queer i s t a n

Gay Gandhi? Hardly

2011-04-16T00:29:00.003-05:00

Last year I attended a short orientation to prepare me for work in rural India. Facing a year in the closet, I asked what I could expect from men in my community in rural Rajasthan:

"You might see some men holding hands like homosexuals in the west."

As a westerner I may have jumped to conclusions about two men holding hands. Certainly in London, you can guarantee that two men holding hands are probably gay or bisexual.

Here in India, I’ve spooned in a single bed with men, I’ve shared my dinner with men, and I’ve had men lie on my lap while we watch the TV. I’ve even been told by men that they love me, and that I am their heart. My phone is full of text messages from men confessing their love and that they miss me.

But do not mistake me as a celebrated as a gay icon. None of these interactions have any sexual context. My relationships with men in my community are entirely platonic. Simply, these men are not gay (I don’t doubt, however, that some in my community live in the closet).

So what happens when a westerner with a western lens on social interaction has the opportunity to interpret male social behavior in India? Well, Gandhi gets called bisexual and the Gujarat State Assembly convenes an emergency session that unanimously bans a comprehensive biography on India’s founding father, a biography they haven’t even read.

Joseph Lelyveld’s book, ‘Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India’ is not itself alarming, nor does it reveal anything that was not already known. Let’s be clear, Lelyveld is not Salman Rushdie and ‘Great Soul’ is not the Satanic Verses (although I, like the Gujarat Assembly, have not read the book). Safe to say, for now, Lelyveld will not be the target of an Indian fatwa.

Reviews of the book have put Lelyveld on the defensive though. In a WSJ review Andrew Roberts suggests that the book labels Gandhi bisexual. Roberts says that Gandhi’s true love is Hermann Kallenbach, a German bodybuilder, because it is written that Gandhi “has a portrait of Kallenbach in his bedroom”, because Gandhi said that Kallenbach had “taken possession of Gandhi’s body”, and because Gandhi had asked Kallenbach “not to look lustfully upon any woman” (never mind that this was in strict adherence to his vow of celibacy).

The review was widely quoted. In the British Daily Mail, an article ran under the headline: "Gandhi 'left his wife to live with a male lover' new book claims". The Mumbai Mirror, carried the story on a front page headline, “Book claims German man was Gandhi’s secret love” (ironically the article remarks how gleeful western reviews have pounced on the few lines relating to sexuality, failing to note that their story was itself smeared gleefully across their front page).

Lelyveld, judging by various reviews, has included a marginal section on Gandhi’s relationship with Kallenbach in his book, but stops short of judgment on the nature of the relationship.

But ‘Great Soul’ has nonetheless caused uproar in India, where the WSJ review – shot-gunned to the public by a lazy Indian media - has been read ahead of the book, meaning the book and content have been framed in the eyes of Roberts and other discerning (I kid) westerners. Gujarat is only the first of a pack of baying state assemblies in line to ban the book.

I have two problems with this; firstly, that the entire assembly of a state representing sixty million people could be so disgusted by the suggestion that Gandhi is gay, and secondly; that the entire assembly of a state representing sixty million people would base legislation on an erroneous review without even considering to pause and assess the evidence.

So that’s a lazy media, homophobia, and gross misjudgment. If I could convey a sigh of disapproval (should that be – quelle surprise?) at India, this is it (in the wake of their Cricket World Cup victory, nonetheless).

Homophobia in India is still rampant, but it’s manifested in ignorance rather than hatred. At any rate, there’s a long way to go before the question of Gandhi’s sexuality fades into irrelevance, and there are plenty more battles to be fought before it becomes acceptable to call Gandhi’s founding father bisexual (a term that many ‘phobes’ might perceive as more threatening than being called gay).

The race to ban ‘Great Soul’ on a whim of hysteria would be more believable had it happened under the Taliban. But in a country known for its morbidly slow legislative process, the decision to pass a hurried vote during an emergency session is a betrayal of democracy.

The gross misjudgment and unquestioning disgust caused by the suggestion that a book might have supposed Gandhi bisexual says more about the need for action to challenge homophobia – even in an ‘enlightened’ state assembly – than it does the content of Gandhi’s character.

Gujarat (soon to be joined by the state of Maharashtra, home to Bombay) has bought a great deal of shame not just to itself, but to millions of gay Indians who have begun to come out of the closet since homosexuality was decriminalized in 2009. The whole milieu - from an ignorant review seeking sensationalism, to a sloppy media doing the same, to lazy and captivated state assemblies – is a train-wreck of impotence.

Was Gandhi bisexual? I don’t know. But on the basis of this irrelevant evidence I wouldn’t count on it.

Then again, like the Gujarat State Assembly, I haven’t read the book.

By Simon McNorton. You can read more of Simon's thoughts at simonmcnorton.com.

Fitting In Without Letting Go

2011-01-14T05:42:00.003-06:00

Simon McNorton is an Indicorps Fellow 2010 working on inclusive education programs in Rajasthan. His time in India is allowing him to discover his family's roots in India. Prior to India, Simon worked for gay equality organizations in the US and UK on issues including equality in employment, homophobia in education and hate crime and civil partnership legislation. You can read more of his thoughts at simonmcnorton.com

Push your limits. Make a difference. Be the change.

As Indicorps Fellows, we hear this a lot. And it's true, we have the potential to achieve so much this year. Placed at rural sites across the width and depth of India – from the Thar Desert to the banks of the Ganges, the Himalayas to beaches on the Indian Ocean – and armed with a license to practice change, we're exploring our identity and learning what we can become when we embrace opportunity. It's a once in a lifetime experience, right?

When you're groped by a stranger you really hope it's a once in a lifetime experience. When the perpetrator is a middle-aged labourer in a rural, empty school building 4,000 miles from home, out of sight from his wife and children, doubly so. Life-changing? Yes. What I signed up for? No.

The spiraling crash from the dizzy heights of pre-arrival to the reality of rural India comes without a parachute. But sometimes you land feet first. There's no point dwelling on negative experiences, and it's important to move on, but what lessons can be learned? Why did this happen to me? How can I turn this experience around?

In India I often find myself trying to turn experiences and situations around. In Chachiyawas, a small village in the Ajmer district of Rajasthan where my project is based, I meet someone new. “Your wife name?”. I try to explain that I don't have a wife. “But you are old”. Flattered, I try to change the subject, perhaps I can talk about how nice this chai is. “But really, why don't you have a wife”. In the face of persistence I explain that I travel too often. Whatever the excuse, this conversation will happen again, so I try to keep my stories straight. The web begins.

I'm not alone, the majority of Fellows have to adjust to their new environment. Women especially have to conceal large parts of their character, and bodies, to work effectively at the grassroots level. As fellows we censor our behaviour in India. The problem is easy to spot, how do we embrace our communities while concealing facets of our identity?

As an openly gay man coming from a career in gay equality, it's an oft-asked question. Before arriving in India, colleagues would frequently remind me, “You can't kiss boys there you know, how will you survive?”. Again flattered – my survival does not depend on kisses – the question would come up time and time again. It became a mission to me. It won't be so hard, I told myself. After all, being gay does not define me. I'm here to push my limits, to make a difference, and to be the change. I'm not here to be gay.

Perhaps I was naïve to think homosexuality would not be an issue. But the sordid reality of being gay in India was nothing to embrace. The middle-aged labourer I encountered was living a double life that manifested itself in an abusive manner. As an equality campaigner, I struggled to place blame on someone who had been repressed by society. To me, this was an opportunity to learn. To learn that despite being ignored, repressed and deemed the worst of immorality, there are gay people in India.

But I'm not here to kiss boys and I'm not here to be gay. I'm here to be the change in Chachiyawas. How do you move forward? Equality is my strongest passion, but gay liberation in the remote reaches of conservative Rajasthan cannot be my agenda this year. I turned it around.

The adults and children I work with in Chachiyawas suffer from severe learning disabilities which make them vulnerable to abuse. Working as a labourer on our remote campus is a sexual predator who is not able to demarcate the line between acceptable behaviour and repressed sexuality. Like the loudest penny dropping, I realised that it is vital to raise awareness of sexual abuse on campus. I engaged the issue with teachers and staff.

Is this a step towards changing mindsets and being the change? I hope so, although probably not in a direction that would liberate gay men and women. It's a challenging contradiction of priorities. I want to protect the adults and children I live with, but I don't want to demonise homosexuality. The latter is not my raison d'etre, and to yield my responsibility to the community serves a selfish agenda.

So how do we embrace our communities while hiding facets of our identity? Am I denouncing my sexuality for all time? Should my female co-fellows shun their body in shame? No, of course not. But my co-fellows and I are not here to be who we were, we're here to find out who we can become. This is our time to experiment with what is possible, to learn how we can do better and to be the change in our communities. I'm not here to serve an agenda, I'm here to discover my agenda.

Nepal Knows Where the $$$ is at

2010-03-24T22:31:00.002-05:00

One of our first posts at queeristan was about the nascent LGBT movement in Nepal (please ignore the unfortunate wording choice...we were young and facetious then): ~~Nipple~~ Nepal, Land of High Peaks, Opens Bosom for LGBTs. The recent political upheaval in Nepal, which replaced the aboslute monarchy with a secular republic, provided an opportunity for the Nepali LGBT movement to take root. In a newly-minted democracy, the spirit of change pervades the political atmosphere.

Nepal is back in the Western media's radar, this time for their, may I say so myself, pragmatic approach to tourism. They want to become the go-to tourist destination for gay couples, keenly aware of limited rights for LGBTs in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. Looking to diversify their tourism portfolio, Nepal is targeting gay couples, hoping that wealthier tourists will add more cash to the economy by participating in higher-cost activites such as staying in five-star hotels. Currently, the tourism industry is dominated by the typical backpacker living on a shoestring budget. These efforts are headed by none other than Sunil Pant.

Pink Everest: Nepal appeals for gay tourists

Queer Desi Hotline Opens!

2010-03-10T13:17:00.006-06:00

Some great news below -- read and take advantage of this excellent resource!

"The South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association of New York City announces the launch of its LGBTIQ support hotline. This is the first such hotline for LGBTIQ South Asians in the USA. While the hotline is for everyone, we particularly hope to reach those LGBTIQ folk who are unable to take advantage of our other support events and resources. The hotline is supported by a grant from the Stonewall Foundation, by The Asian Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS and by generous contributions from the South Asian LGBT community. Please note details below and spread the word!"
SALGA Hotline
Thursdays from 5-7pm.
1-866-274-2429

Want some masala in your hamantaschen?

2010-02-25T23:46:00.010-06:00

In honor of Purim this Sunday, we feel like this Dana International melody is perfect to jump-start our weekend. Dana International, to those Eurovison deprived, is an international superstar known for her dance-able beats and supreme voice. Oh, and she's probably the most well recognized transsexual in the world.

In Secret Hodi (Movie from India), Dana performs a duet with Isreali cutie, Idan Yaniv. The song is great and the video is just the right amount of camp. Dana, get started on some new music, girl!!! In the meantime, enjoy below:

We all want world peace

2010-02-24T23:12:00.010-06:00

While there have been scattered hijra pageants in India in the past, earlier this week, Mumbai hosted the nation's first formal transgender pageant. Auditions for "Super Queen" have been taking place across the country for the past several weeks; contestants had been handpicked from ten Indian cities. Veteran actor Zeenat Aman and starlet/LGBT activist Celina Jaitley were on hand as judges.

The event has been organized by 12 Noon entertainment; some of you may be familiar with its CEO, trans-activist Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi. Impressively, they have been able to garner support from the likes of Salman Khan and even Pratibha Patil, the current President of India. While we at Queeristan are sorting through the media trickling in, we have been by conflicted by the dichotomous the use of "eunuch" by some sources and "transgender" by others. From our knowledge, the pageant did not require contestants to be hijras; however, if any of our readers know more information, please do share.

Regardless, it is extraordinary that such an undertaking has gained so much (positive) media buzz both within

India

as well as abroad. We send our congratulations to the winner, Bobby, and all the contestants. We would take this chance to drop the word "fierce", but it's not 2006.

The internet- Finding dirt on others has never been so easy!

2010-02-23T22:12:00.005-06:00

Although I prefer Safari and Firefox over Internet Explorer, I may just have to switch back because of this hilarious commercial.

Some Just Enjoy the Rickshaw Ride

2010-02-22T00:35:00.012-06:00

Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras was just your regular professor sort of guy, who (like anyone else) liked a little something-something on the side. Some of his students did not seem to stomach their professor's dalliances too well and set him up to be captured on tape having sex with a male rickshaw-puller. Professor Siras' situation is complicated by the fact that he teaches at Aligarh Muslim University, an all womens', Islam influenced college.

The school deems the mishap a "scandal that no institution of repute can overlook." Siras, who was on the verge of retirement, has since been suspended from the university. However, we at Queeristan are curious about what particularly defines this as a scandal-worthy.

- professor sex scandal (+1)

- older indian dude caught having sex (-2)

- pre-martial sex in India (+3)

- caught with a guy (+10)

- caught with a rickshaw-walla (+17)

- threat of an MSM professor at a womens' college (-5)

- above at a Muslim women's college in India (+12)

- sex act recorded by media who broke into his house (+43)

total: 79

Let's be honest, the "anal sex" factor only plays a supporting role in this scandalous/intriguing story. We seriously question the ethics of Aligarh's media news, there is so much going on that we cannot separate the absurdity from fact. Regardless, we hope that Siras can now enjoy his afternoon delights in peace.

Queering Around

2010-02-21T00:55:00.002-06:00

After essentially a year-long hiatus, with an occasional post, we're back. It's a new decade and we're refreshed. Of course, in typical desi-timing, we waited until February of the new year to announce our comeback.

We've missed a lot in our hiatus, including the huge news of Delhi finally legalizing homosexuality, overturning a vestigial law from the British Raj. No worries though, we will catch up quickly. When we started this blog, we had no idea there would be so much news to report. We were quickly overwhelmed and humbled. So much is going on, but very few places are aggregating the news or connecting the dots. We promise to update at least once a month.

While we may have been absent here, we have been busy queering around in our daily lives. Our own NeroX2 was interviewed by Time Out Chicago - check out the article by clicking here. He's been organizing with Trikone Chicago, reaching out to queer South Asians in the city and metro area.

There's a lot of reasons to come back, but the biggest reason is you guys keep coming back to us.

Muslim Country motions to Legally Recognise Same-Sex Unions

2009-07-30T12:37:00.002-05:00

Yes indeed, you heard us correctly. India has been making small steps towards becoming an entity fighting anti-discrimination by first decriminalising homosexual acts in the nation's capital. This has been rivaled by a surprising Muslim country who seeks to get into the European Union. Albania, a Muslim populace of 70%, has put forth a motion to legalise gay marriage. Although it seems like a long-shot with Albania's conservative yet secular culture, it looks promising that this former Communist state will perform leaps and bounds in breaking Eastern Europe's reputation of being anti-gay.

Reports on this are on the following websites:
Pinknews.Co.UK
Balkan Insight

Decriminalisation of Homosexuality in India's Capital? Say Wha?!

2009-07-06T20:46:00.002-05:00

Links:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090702/ap_on_re_as/as_india_gay_rights

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-8645.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8129836.stm

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0702/breaking29.htm

Slowly but surely, times are a-changin'.

Voices From the Community: Cruising, Blackmail, and Guns

2009-03-24T07:01:00.003-05:00

"As a gay, Muslim teenager growing up in a posh area of Karachi, Pakistan, I struggled to hide from my family the fact that I was attracted to other men. I immersed myself in literature, and as a precocious ninth grader I produced and acted in George Bernard Shaw's farce "Passion, Poison and Petrifaction," a play whose title unconsciously expressed my nervous view of the Pakistani world outside my cocoon. Looking for an exit, I was a superachiever in a hurry. At 18, I earned a scholarship to Stanford University. I should have made a clean break then. But all through college I dated women, willing myself to be "normal." Not surprisingly, my attraction to men didn't wane.

In grad school, I was ready for adventure and decided to spend a summer back home researching rural-development projects. I worked with a local social worker, a handsome, bearded man who liked to flirt. We'd sit together under the sun discussing politics, while I observed his body under his diaphanous kurta shalwar. Knowing he was married, I didn't dare make a move.

One evening I drove to a park known for being Karachi's unofficial cruising spot for gay men. Within a few minutes I noticed a burly man with a heavy mustache in his late 30s gesturing toward me. My heart was pounding as he approached. "I have a place we can go," he said, and we started walking toward the park's exit, visions of a forbidden tryst flashing in my mind.

In my air-conditioned car he gave me driving directions. Looking around, he suddenly sneered, "This is a very nice, expensive car." I started getting nervous. He didn't touch me. He gave no signals.

We arrived at the entrance to a dingy house and entered the driveway. He locked the gate behind us, told me to wait in the car and disappeared into the house. I was sweating profusely now and wondered, "Can I still get out of this situation?" Five minutes later he came out, visibly angry now, sat in the car and pointed a gun at me. He said he was an undercover cop and that inside the house were several men waiting to rape me to teach me a lesson. "What is wrong with people like you?" he yelled maniacally. "You should like girls, or you will be treated like one."

My lust had transformed into immobilizing fear. He told me to drive again, and as we drove around for what seemed like hours, I had a vague sense that I needed to play his game and find a way to survive this ordeal. He demanded that I admit homosexuality was a sin, and I eventually complied. I also promised to meet him at a hotel the following day, where he would tell me how much money he wanted. He warned me that he had my car's license-plate number, and that he'd track me down if I didn't show."

Read the rest of the story at Out of the Closet, At Gunpoint

A breath of fresh air...

2009-03-18T16:46:00.004-05:00

A few months ago, the US refused to sign a United Nations declaration that urged countries to decriminalize homosexuality. Well today, the Obama Administration formally endorsed that UN statement, allowing the US to finally join sixty-six other nations who supported the measure this past December. State Department spokesman Robert Wood delivered the following,

"...as such, we join with other supporters of this statement, and we will continue to remind countries of the importance of respecting the human rights of all people in all appropriate international fora."

The approval effectively reverses eight years of silence on the part of the Bush Administration. While the declaration does little in terms of enforcement or any real action, it is the first of its kind. We can only hope that with the US vocally behind the rights of sexual minorities, nations like India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka can begin to see the errors of their human rights policies.

Representin' at Sydney Mardi Gras

2009-03-08T21:21:00.003-05:00

A Pakistani Lesbian and an Indian transsexual represent the Desis in BBC's Mardi Gras photos. The theme for this year's event was "Nations United," a tribute to queers living around the world.

In Pictures: Gay Mardi Gras in Sydney

Weekly Mix Masala

2009-02-27T13:38:00.000-06:00

StarAsia Censors the Homos out of the Oscars
Queerty

Check out a free copy of Pukaar, the journal of Naz Foundation International! Includes such topics as the Evolution of Homosexuality, MSM's, eunuchs, Nepal's courts, HIV, prostitution, virgins, and much much more...
Naz Foundation International

"I can be a good Muslim and be gay"
Muslims against Sharia Blog

Bobby Jindal declares gay marriage for everyone! (yeah right..)
Queerty

Oh no they didn't - Pussycat Dolls put the "Ho" in Jai-Ho. Listen to it here...
zSHARE

Anyone into water sports? India launches new cow urine soft drink.
Times Online

When Pink turns to Red.. A slightly annoying article that makes homosexuals look like sex-craved murders.
Mumbai Mirror

Just hope that we won't have to wait 466 years..

2009-02-26T13:54:00.002-06:00

"NEW DELHI (AP) — The High Court in New Delhi is so behind in its work that it could take up to 466 years to clear the enormous backlog, the court's chief justice said in a damning report that illustrates the decrepitude of India's judicial system.

The Delhi High Court races through each case in an average of four minutes and 55 seconds but still has tens of thousands of cases pending, including upward of 600 that are more than 20 years old, according to the report.

The problems of the Delhi High Court, which hears civil, criminal, and constitutional cases, is more the standard than the exception in India. The country's creaky judicial system has long been plagued by corruption, inefficiency and lack of accountability, often making the rule of law unattainable for all but the wealthy and the well-connected.

The United Nations Development Program says some 20 million legal cases are pending in India.

"It's a completely collapsed system," said Prashant Bhushan, a well-known lawyer in New Delhi. "This country only lives under the illusion that there is a judicial system." "

Indian Court is 466 years behind schedule

Mr. Patel and his Gay Elephant

2009-02-25T20:07:00.005-06:00

It's one part Spongebob, one part Ren & Stimpy, and a whole lot of political incorrectness. The Mr. Patel series one of many produced by UK animation studio, ZACtoons. Creator Troy Zafer states that, "The series perceptively highlights Indian culture in a positive and light hearted manner, with the hero, Mr Patel always triumphing." While it might not match everyone's humor, the animation and storyline are undoubtedly unique.

Each episode is about 2 min (with a total of ten in the series), all available on YouTube. The one imbedded below deubts Mr. Patel's gay elephant, Rajiv. To set up the clip, Mr. Patel and female interest, Blondie, are trapped in Rajiv's belly. Slick and his thugs hold Rajiv captive to find Mr. Patel so they can buy out his shop. Racist, homophobic, or just plain odd -- decide for yourself...

The Gayest and Brownest Oscars EVER

2009-02-22T23:47:00.014-06:00

The Oscars this year was like no other. In order to stave off the terrible ratings of previous years, the producers changed around the format, hoping to keep audiences tuned in for more. While the jury is still out on their success, Hugh Jackman certainly did entertain us. His song and dance numbers livened up our Oscar experience, paying homage to the ceremony's heyday of the past.

While there was no Queer Desi winner tonight, both gays and brown folk have much to celebrate. Here are the artists who, by winning, made us feel as if we won too....

Dustin Lance Black
Best Original Screenplay -- Milk
Black gave a heartwarming speech on his journey to Milk as a gay man. He also spoke directly to LGBT youth,

"who have been told that they are less than by their churches, by the government or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally, across this great nation of ours."

Smile Pinki
Best Documentary Short Film
Mylan's short film's protagonist, Pinki, is a hard-willed girl from a humble household in Mirzapur. Pinki suffers from a cleft lip, something she never knew a simple surgery could fix. Smile Pinki is a "real-world fairy tale that follows a young girl's journey to a dream smile from isolation and shame."

AR Rahman
Best Original Score -- Slumdog Millionaire
Best Original Song -- "Jai Ho"
AR Rahman is finally getting the global recognition he has deserved for decades. His ability to fuse unique beats with nontraditional rhythms has already earned him the title of a musical deity in the Subcontinent. During the presentations of Best Song, the Oscars suddenly transformed into the Filmfares; the performances were gripping with Rahman's two wins as the icing on the cake. And, like every good boy, he thanked his mom.

Sean Penn
Best Actor in Leading Role -- Milk
In what was most likely the biggest surprise of the night, Sean Penn beat out front-runner, Mickey Rourke, for his endearing portrayal of Harvey Milk, gay activist and politician. He like Black, used the podium to address the need to continue Milk's work.

"I think it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way"

Slumdog Millionaire
Best Picture & 7 other awards!
Slumdog was, by far, the runaway hit at this years' Oscars. With the entire cast on stage receiving the more coveted award of the night, the energy was palpable from even my living room. The underdog story was a case of life imitating art; three months ago no one could even anticipate the success that Slumdog Millionaire and its cast and crew have reaped. And of course, who could forget the adorable young actors who were flown into LA just for the occasion.

2009-02-19T08:00:00.003-06:00

The Al-Fatiha Foundation, one of the oldest Muslim LGBT communities, is revamping their website to better serve and connect their members. The site plans to debut later this Spring; in the meantime, Al-Fatiha is helping coordinate a historic survey of LGBT Muslims worldwide. The creators cite that,

"...this is the first survey of its kind. The results of this survey will tell us all about our community, our experiences and our concerns. The results will guide Al-Fatiha's educational and advocacy work on behalf of LGBTIQQ Muslims, and will be shared with the entire community."

Remember that all responses are anonymous and confidential, you can skip any questions that you wish -- your feedback will only strengthen Al-Fatiha's response to the community's issues and obstacles. Check out the survey, let your voice be heard!

UK vs. Sharia

2009-02-17T21:12:00.012-06:00

The UK is currently looking to classify all Sharia beliefs as extremist. If the plan goes forward, those who strictly abide by the Islamic scripture will find themselves on the opposite side of British Law. The Guardian reports that the change would, "widen the definition of extremists to those who hold views that clash with what the government defines as shared British values." The government believes that by targeting hardline Muslims, the nation will be better able to combat terrorists.

What probably interests most of us is how this measure will effect Sharia's views on homosexuality. Islamic law does not beat around the bush when condemning same-sex love; many Muslims, from Mecca to Madrid, strictly enforce this social code. In a 2007 UK survey, 65% of the general population found homosexuality "acceptable", compared with a paltry 5% within the nation's Muslim communities. If Britain looks to classify all Sharia beliefs as extremist, the book's anti-gay sentiments will fall under the category.

While I disagree with several tenants of Sharia, I can't help but feel that the UK's plans carry a tinge of xenophobia. Such a law only expands the schism between "us" and "the other" -- that sort of isolation breeds more anger and resentment, I can only see more bad than good come from it.

Pink Chaadis to the Rescue!

2009-02-15T10:46:00.001-06:00

Rachel Maddow, the first openly gay anchor to host a prime time news program in the U.S., joins the Consortium of Pub-Going, Loose, and Forward Women. Sooo cool!

Tickled Pink

Happy <3 Day!

2009-02-14T12:29:00.004-06:00

"In a country where they object to inter-caste, inter-religious and same sex relationships, it is important to have a day that recognizes love."-Ajay Kher

"In a country where extreme right groups still target heterosexual love outside of rigidly defined constraints as being "immoral," gay Indians are slowly moving toward greater acceptance and a more comfort with visibility.

A Feb. 13 article in the Hindustan Times detailed how gay couples are preparing to celebrate a Western import--Valentine’s Day--even as the violent extremist group Ram Sene has issued warnings against the observance and of the holiday, which Ram Sene describes as a "Christian conspiracy" to contaminate and dilute traditional Hindu values.

Ram Sene recently carried out an attack against a Mangalore pub, and about 140 of its members, including founding member Pramod Muthalik, have been rounded up and placed under "preventive arrest" following threats by the group to attack celebrants and force girls into arranged marriages against their will if they appear to be enjoying the attentions of their "Valentines," according to a Feb. 13 article at Outlook India.com.

Gay Hindus are somewhat concerned that the violent extremist group will target them next, but in the meantime, the holiday celebrating romance beckons, and same-sex lovers, like lovers of all persuasions everywhere, are answering its call."

Gay Hindus Celebrate Valentine's Day In India

Weekly Mix Masala

2009-02-13T23:47:00.008-06:00

What's the story on HIV/AIDS and Indian youth?
The Viewspaper

Did Vanity Fair whitewash Slumdog Millionaire's Freida Pinto in the March issue?
Jezebel

A touching story by a previously homophobic Pakistani woman..."Learning from Harvey Milk: A Pakistani view!"
Pak Tea House

The teen soap Hollyoaks recently introduced its first Asian family-the Roys. Hunky Ravi Roy, played by Stephen Uppal, is bisexual in the soap, but his family is unaware of his sexuality.
Channel 4

Want a baby? Gay or straight, come to India, doc says.
IndiaWest

Phone companies give transgendered task of repairing phones. Because everyone knows transpeople are good with their hands..?
Times of India

It only took a UK reality show and Oprah for gay Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil to start gaining respect his own townsfolk.
Times of India

Aware that they may be the next targets of Ram Sene, homosexuals join women in the fight to resist being bullied by straight men with narrow minds.
Hindustan Times

Funny Indian man turns gay for advertising! Definitely the WTF moment of the week..

All the single ladies, put your hands up...

2009-02-10T22:13:00.010-06:00

Last week, the Hindu organization, Sri Ram Sena, attacked several women at a bar for drinking and dancing with men. Television crews caught women being shoved to the ground and others running away from the Sena. Fortunately no one was severely injured and ten men involved were arrested (yet soon after released on bail.)

The Sri Ram Sena is a relatively unknown group in India. They see themselves as crusaders, aiming to protect Indian values from Western temptations. In other words -- the Westboro Baptist Church of the subcontinent. The Sena defended their brash actions, stating that "[the] group was stepping in to enforce morality because the government had failed." While Indian officials have denounced the attacks, it did not stop many placing judgement on "modern" Indian women.

But it nice to see that Indian women not taking these attacks lying down, rather they have created the Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women. The consortia is currently organizing a drive to send pink chaddis to the Sena for Valentine's Day. They have published a 3 Step guide showing how we can send a message to these zealots via adorable underwear.

V-Day is just around the corner -- dig out those pink granny panties you mom used to buy for you and send them over!

Weekly Mix Masala

2009-02-08T23:15:00.008-06:00

In India, a pro-gay play finally starts running after receiving its censor certificate a year later.
Videos From India

More info on the play here: Queer Media Watch

Indian theater manager is killed over his sexual advances towards one his male employees
Queer Media Watch

Hare Krishna Women discuss research that 72% of truck drivers in North Pakistan who participated in a recent survey admitted that they had sex with males. And there's some really interesting research on homosocial relationships in South Asian culture in this post. Go check it out!
Hare Krishna Women

Assholes in India run women out of a bar by kicking and slapping them
The Observers

Ugh more assholes. Ken Starr is trying to forcibly divorce already married gay couples in Cali
Courage Campaign

Whoa - Kansas is introducing a bill to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s anti-discrimination law. If this full-blown Midwestern state is going for this, there is hope for the US.
365 Gay News

But then again - New York Senate Majority Leader Malcolm A. Smith said that he did not believe legislation to legalize marriage between same-sex couples has enough support to become law in 2009.
NYTimes

Full list of donors who donated to support Prop 8 in California
California Secretary of State

For Queer Dummies: Section 377 Ruling

2009-02-05T07:07:00.007-06:00

"In order to understand where we are now, how the Indian population will respond to the debate and what future prospectives exist, [Pura. A queer invader] has asked Vikram Doctor [a journalist of The Economic Times and gay rights activist] to answer the following questions and he has kindly responded by email.

1. Vikram, when should we expect the verdict of the High Court?

Any day now. We don’t know for sure because the High Court will only let us know the day before that they are posting a decision. So it depends on how long the judges take to do their decision. The arguments have been thorough, this is quite a high profile case and the judges are known to be independent and conscientious, so a decision should be due soon. But we don’t know when.

2. If it is positive and welcomes the requests of the associations what effects will it have?

Strictly speaking the decision, whatever it is, will be a limited one - it will be limited to the state of Delhi, and will probably also be limited in time too, because it will almost definitely be appealed to the Supreme Court for a final decision. If it is positive then our opponents who include an AIDS denial group and a right wing nationalist, possibly supported by India’s Home Ministry, will almost definitely appeal it to the Supreme Court, which could apply a stay order. If it is negative, the queer rights groups could appeal it (but we haven’t really got a firm strategy for this yet).

But this is technical. If we win it will be a really big symbolic win, because it will be the first time a really high court in India is pronouncing on the subject of homosexuality. Also, among the High Courts in India, the decisions of the Delhi, Bombay and Chennai High Courts are often given particular importance because they are particularly well respected courts. The decision will probably not be binding on other courts, but it will send a strong signal to the legal community on the direction that queer rights in India should take.

We already have evidence of how this case is affecting the law, even before it is decided. About a year or two ago, a young British man called Desmond Hope was accused of violating this law in Goa. The High Court of Goa gave him bail on the grounds that the fact that this case was being fought showed that attitudes towards homosexuality are changing in India.

3. Will the crime of homosexuality as stated in article 377 be abolished in all of India?

As I stated, no. The decision will be limited to Delhi, but its effect will be felt across India. Also, I should make it clear we are not asking for Section 377 to go, but are only asking for a very narrow change - we are asking to courts to declare that it does not apply to consenting adults. This is because the law still has use in cases of child sex abuse and male rape. Ideally there should be a new law to deal with these, but in its absence we hope the courts will use their power to exclude consenting adults from this law.

4. How do you think the majority of the Indian population feels about lgbt people’s civil rights?

I don’t think the majority of India’s population feels anything about LGBT people, positive or negative. I think there is less overt homophobia here that in Europe and certainly the US, though that doesn’t necessarily translate into automatic acceptance.

Part of the homophobia is simply due to less visibility and understanding of homosexuality - so once that increases, there will be more homophobia. There is awareness of forms of alternate sexuality that have long been part of Indian society, like the hijra community. There is acceptance of this, but it comes with very definite prejudices some of which are extended to the gay community.

In some cases we have leapfrogged a bit, so elite groups, for example, like those in Bollywood or the media, are often gay friendly because they’ve picked it up from abroad. But its a form of acceptance that comes with its own stereotypes that can be a problem. Also, there is a general fear of people being too open - you often hear parents telling their kids that they are OK with them being gay, but they don’t want them to march on the streets for it.

I think there is some truth in that Indian society tends to be fairly tolerant, though its easy to make too much of this. But homophobia in its formalized form is a Western imposition on Indian society in the form of Section 377, and I do think, optimistically, that once it goes, progress in India will be rapid.

5. For us Europeans it is difficult to understand Indian society: multi-ethnic, multi-religious, secular and democratic. They seem like unexplainable paradoxes. In what way will the quality of life improve for lgbt people in India?

But “multi-ethnic, multi-religious, secular and democratic” is a pretty good description of Europe itself, in its totality. India is easily understood in such terms - all you need to do is substitute a bureaucracy in Brussels for a bureaucracy in Delhi (we just don’t have a revolving Presidency!). So to extend the analogy a bit, life will definitely improve for people in some places, not as much for people in other places (Poland!) and be mediated by local cultural factors. There will be an overall improvement, but probably not as fast and as clear cut as journalists and activists would like. "

Read the rest of the Interview at Puta. A queer invader

Girltalk in Chennai

2009-02-03T23:12:00.009-06:00

Chennai will be launching its first lesbian helpline in a few days and phones have already been ringing! The program is sponsored by the sexual minority NGO, Indian Community Welfare Organisation (ICWO). The helpline is to provide counseling, support, and livelihood assistance to lesbians of the city. So Chennai gals, you can ring 044-65515742 if you need someone to chat with; the lines officially open this Saturday (February 7th).

Now if this sounds like something you would like to get involved with, the helpline is seeking volunteers. As of now only gay men are available to work the lines, the program would ideally like women taking calls. Interested? Contact ICWO, it's a great cause!

Manhunt presents.. Mr. Gay World 2009

2009-02-02T21:56:00.004-06:00

And Bhavin Shivji Gala is in the running! A dance and fashion choreographer hailing from India, Bhavin wants to win Mr. Gay World so he can "fight for making gay rights legal in India and at least ... bring a smile on many gay people who are suffering."

Vote for Bhavin and others at Manhuntvote.com

MoC(k) Marriages

2009-01-31T20:14:00.004-06:00

Take a look at this short film on marriages of convenience by Faisal Jahal. It was submitted for Link TV's online film contest, One Nation Many Voices. While Jahal is no Scorsese, M.o.C. offers an interesting look on this growing trend.

Weekly Mix Masala

2009-01-30T05:01:00.000-06:00

Pune sees its first gay play-- Offbeat
Times of India

A look at the Highs (and Lows) of 2008 for South Asia
Global Voices

Forum on Islam and Homosexuality brings heated discussions from both sides of the table.
Beliefnet.com

As much as we at queeristan love NDTV for it's queer-friendly programming, it's facing heat in the Indian blogging community for infringing on free speech
Desi Pundit

Delhi woman demands alimony from gay ex-husband
Times of India

India not alone in suffering from dated Victorian "morality"
PinkNews

Trials begin in Punjab on possible HIV viral filter
Deccan Herald

15 South Asian NGOs unite to seek acceptance for sexual minorities.
Times of India

GLAAD publishes Media Reference Guide, 7th edition
GLAAD.org

La Mala Educación

2009-01-28T08:00:00.002-06:00

Sometimes just because someone goes to college (or runs a university) doesn't always mean they are educated. Officials at Chennai's well-known PSNA College of Technology have fired four members of their kitchen staff for being HIV positive. Three men and one woman have been sacked from their hostel positions after they were tested for the virus. To add insult to injury, the discriminatory decision was made right before the South Indian festival of Pongal.

For a science-orientated school, PSNA's management sure ignores the wealth of research on serotransmission. When retold that HIV cannot be passed through food, college official S. Ramkrishnan ignored the facts stating that, "[they] cannot take the risk of having HIV positive cooks working in the college mess." Seeing how concerned Ramkrishnan is of the health of his students, I hope his cooks are routinely checked for influenza, jaundice, and you know, any other disease that actually spreads through food.

And of course, the staff fired are all socially and economically disadvantaged -- prime meat for upper class manipulation. But don't lose all hope, HIV/AIDS rights lawyer Anand Grover has spoken out about the case. Grover points out that, "Mumbai and Delhi high courts have ruled that a person living with HIV could not be denied opportunity of employment." I hope he takes the case -- anyone else channeling Denzel Washington circa Philadelphia?

Reincarnation key to homosexuality!

2009-01-27T09:01:00.000-06:00

According to Jay Lakhani from the Vivekananda Centre, Hinduism provides a simple answer to homosexuality- reincarnation! For example, a male transmigrating into a female's body in his next life = lesbian! So all gay men think like women and all gay women think like men.

Part of me is just happy that we are accepted as a part of Hindu society. But then, is this oversimplification the right way to go about it?

South Asia, US refuse to sign UN gay-rights declaration

2009-01-25T08:46:00.004-06:00

In December, 66 countries signed a United Nations declaration that urged countries to decriminalize homosexuality. Unfortunately the US, along with all South Asian countries (aside from Nepal) refused to sign!

"Sponsored by France, the declaration was backed by the 27 member European Union, but the US, the Vatican, Russia and China, along with all Islamic countries, refused to sign the declaration.

The non-signatories also included seven of the eight members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. Nepal was the only signatory from SAARC.

According to the media report, Sri Lanka had also refused to sign a counter-declaration by Syria, which warned that decriminalising homosexuality may “legitimize paedophilia”. This declaration was signed by 57 countries, mostly from Catholic and Muslim countries.

The unprecedented gay rights declaration was submitted to the UN General Assembly by Argentinean ambassador Jorge Arguello, representing a third of the world body’s 192 countries.

The appeal is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states in article one that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”.

The European nations backing the declaration waged their campaign in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

Lanka's decision to shun UN gay rights resolution flayed

Weekly Mix Masala

2009-01-23T23:44:00.004-06:00

Looks like New York's Senator replacement for Hillary Clinton is not too gay friendly
The Daily Dish

A new way for doctors to identify if someone is suffering from domestic violence by the pattern of fractures around the face
Jezebel

Facebook as political activism? Hello, we were totally on top of this trend circa 2006 (go check out our facebook group, Queer and Trans Desis (South Asians))
Jezebel

Iran has sentenced two internationally renowned Irani AIDS physicians to six and three years of prision for their plot to overthrow Iran’s Islamic regime. Sounds like some shady governing to me.
365gay.com

Eunuchs in da house! Eunuchs in India seek quota in jobs, government.
NDTV.com

In US schools, gays of color are at the highest risk for violence
365gay.com

At a photography session with Prince Mavendra Singh Gohil
asianwindow.com

New cases registered under section IPC 377:
Man booked under 377 for sexually assaulting an under-aged girl
Times of India

Teenaged boy says cop in uniform sodomized him for refusing to get liqour
Indian Express

And my personal favorite...
Murdered homosexual man posthumorously booked under 377 because he allegedly came on to the man that murdered him. How the hell is he supposed to defend himself if the only witness to his crime was his murderer? Does this not prove that Section 377 needs to change??
Express India

The Making of "I Can't Think Straight"

2009-01-23T23:34:00.001-06:00

We know how much you all loved "I Can't Think Straight," the lesbian film by Shamim Sarif. Check out some behind-the-scenes action!

Weekly Mix Masala

2009-01-16T12:02:00.004-06:00

Sunil Babu Pant, from Nepal, addresses the UN on LGBT issues.
Gays Without Borders

This guy is on fire! Pant also received a "People of the Year Award" from The Advocate magazine!
Advocate.com

Nepal - one step forward, two steps back. Journalist Uma Singh, one of many journalists targeted in Nepal, is hacked to death by 12 to 20 men. One issue Uma covered was women's rights.
SAJA Forum

The Star Screen Awards were very... pseudo-gay this year! Priyanka Chopra wins the Best Actress award for Fashion and Jon Abraham and Abishek Bachchan win the best couple award for Dostana.
Screen India

Which Bollywood stars have Hollywood look-a-likes? These pairings are amazing!!
Ultrabrown

Queer Masti: Bi-sexual Prejudice - Bi Ladki talks about the lack of understanding towards bi-sexuals.
Desiclub.com

Court rules that Bangladeshi trans-persons are full-fledged citizen and are allowed to vote for the first time ever!
Globalgayz.com

What are the HIV related needs of sexual minorities in India? Download the document here:
msmasia.org

Cop torches wife to death in Nagpur, India
Times of India

Ellen goes Bollywood

2009-01-16T01:56:00.001-06:00

While Anoop Dogg is singing his heart out on American Idol, we have Slumdog Millionaire stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto (love them!) on the Ellen Show (love her!) dancing Bollywood style (loves it!). Poor Dev looks like he was caught off-guard with all the music. It's alright if you can't dance, Dev, I still think you're cute.

Anoop Dogg Hits American Idol

2009-01-15T16:45:00.005-06:00

2009 seems to be bringing some much needed media attention to brown folk. First with Slumdog Millionaire's strong showing at the Golden Globes (now, up for 11 BAFTA nominations with Oscar noms to be announced next week), to Sanjay Gupta as Obama's possible Surgeon General pick, to American Idol's newest brown-skinned vocalist. Anoop Desai has a lovable nerd quality to him but packs a mean, soulful punch. Not easily confused with the gawky (and sometimes just awkward) Sanjaya, I have high hopes for Anoop Dogg. Check out the clip below for his AI audition!

Prince Charming?

2009-01-14T00:01:00.003-06:00

Gujarati Indian Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil has no qualms about being on television. After countless news interviews (including one with Oprah!), the Prince has given in to the lure of reality television! Premiering on Jan 15 on BBC, Prince Gohil will star in "Undercover Princes," a documentary where, hiding his true identity, he will travel gay bars in London to search for his true Prince Charming. Wishing you all the best Prince Gohil, but honesty, I'm not expecting much. Gay bars may not exactly be the best place to find someone to spend your life with. Maybe for hot, slutty, sex- yes, but life-long bliss? I'd suggest a garba- they're always jam-packed with gay Gujju men.

Gay Indian Prince seeks British soulmate

------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: Check out BBC's interview with Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil and a sneak peek at his television show!

The Undercover Princes

Bollyshould(n't) Have

2009-01-13T09:00:00.001-06:00

In all the hunguma over the depiction of homosexuality in Dostana, the movie Fashion managed to squeak past our radar. Fortunately, my vacation consists of my sisters cramming as many movies into a 3 day weekend as possible. And I'd like to say - there is a reason no one is talking about Fashion. Mostly because it sucks.

It should have been good. Really. There's sex, drugs, high fashion, a love triangle, and Priyanka Chopra. The movie is painstakingly slow for the beginning two-thirds. If you could just cut that out, it actually could have had some value. It's one of the few films with a story revolving completely around a female lead and the straight male roles can be barely described as supporting. It takes Indian female independence as a given, rather than a novelty and omg the female has sex and isn't rejected by all of society (let's convienently ignore the fact that she hits bottom low when she gasp! sleeps with a black man*). One of the best things about this movie is the themes of homosexuality. Afterall, you can't talk about the fashion industry and pretend like gay men don't exist, even in India. The initial depiction of one of the gay characters is cringe-inducing but he becomes less of a caricture and more of a person towards the end (the good half of the movie). And even better - they have more than one gay character, and the gay characters are not interested in each other; they have seperate storylines. The second gay role is more interesting - he's never caricturized, his gayness is treated as personal struggle that develops his character. He has to deal with rumors floating around at the Gurdwara about his current bachelor state and his mother's constant haranguing about marriage. In the end, he settles on a marriage of convenience with a female model and keeps his boyfriend. TWO gay roles, TWO seperate storylines...this movie is just begging to be loved. If it weren't for the shitty plotline, the unfinished feel, and the lack of rhythm, I'm sure something could have been salvaged out of it!

This movie had so much potential and the deadpan way that the gay characters were portrayed actually felt progressive in the same way the female independance was portrayed. Gayness wasn't debated in the movie as a moral issue, it wasn't treated as a "look at how Indian culture is changing! - gayness just was. It's as if the creator's of the movie were saying "Yeah, we know there are gay people. What's the big deal?" But maybe I'm giving too much credit to this movie. If it had been severely edited and had a clear message (were they trying to be progressive, or was that just an incidental?), maybe I could give it the benefit of the doubt. Now, for my last question - if there are gay characters in good Bollywood films and crappy Bollywood films, have Indian gays officially made it?

*okay, really Bollywood? I mean people are watching these films all over the world. It's time to stop being xenophobic and realize your reach is far beyond India's borders. We don't want our next post to be "Bollywood Backlash."

An easy way to lose money...

2009-01-12T16:33:00.005-06:00

"I don't give a damn. They can sue me. I will not have any of the gays in leadership roles in my hotel."- Tarun Surti, an Indian American, to David Hill, recently fired from the Artee Hotel in Tennessee for being gay.

Well, buddy, you're about to get sued.
Queerty

Voices From the Community: Queer and Disabled

2009-01-12T15:49:00.003-06:00

"I was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), or brittle bone disease, a disorder characterised by bones that break easily, often from little or no apparent cause. As a two-month-old baby I suffered the first fracture when I merely crossed my legs. Four months later, I sustained another one. Between two and eight, I had many fractures - sometimes when I walked, at other times, when I simply turned in my bed! But these would heal in a few days. The severity of the disease struck only when I suffered a severe, extremely painful fracture to my femur (thigh bone) during a trip to Ludhiana. At eight, I was disabled for life - unable to stand or walk. By the time I turned 13, I had suffered 14 fractures on various parts below the waist (my upper body was thankfully intact). But it left me and my family completely disillusioned. I stopped schooling and was forced to complete my studies from home.

OI is a genetic disorder. I inherited it from my mom, a diabetes patient, who suffered a severe fracture at 40. One of my sisters and niece also suffer from OI, but they are mild cases. Since I was born a few years after my mother's attack, I was severely afflicted. My last fracture was at 13; it happened while I was sleeping! Apart from the excruciating pain, the worse part about OI is not knowing when you will suffer the next fracture. At times, it can strike the same body part. Thankfully, my bones stopped breaking after 13.

But I was going through another turmoil in my mind.

The turning point

After I attained puberty, I realised that I was attracted to men. Puberty, in many ways, was a blessing for me, for it not only stopped my fractures, but also aided my sexual development. Though I had not realised the implications of being gay, I confessed my feelings to my sister who supported and counselled me. Being practically bed-ridden, my social life was negligible so I never really understood the situation in its correct perspective, until years later."

Read the rest of Lekha Menon's story at MumbaiMirror.com

NDTV On It again

2009-01-08T17:41:00.006-06:00

Why does it seem like NDTV is the only news channel carrying LGBT stories in India? See below for an interesting (albeit out-of-date) piece:

Move Over Nandita Das...

2009-01-06T17:47:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year from all of us at Queeristan!

We hope 2009 has some great things in store (ie. economic stability, removal of IPC377, that John Abraham sex tape, etc). Well one thing that will definitely not be a part of 2009 is George W. Bush. President-Elect Barack Obama will be taking office in less than two weeks, effectively ending the controversial 8-year tenure of Dubya. It seems as if the whole world is ~~celebrating~~ commemorating this event in their own way.

Kunaal Roy Kapur's The President is Coming will be George Bush's Bollywood send-off. It was set to release at the Novemeber 28th, but was pushed back due to the Mumbai attacks. The film is set during the President's diplomatic visit to India. A group of twenty-somethings compete to be the face of New India and the chance to shake the President's hand. It is meant to be a comedic satire spotted with political incorrectness.

Now if any of you have heard of this movie, chances are it's due the press attention of Kokona Sen Sharma's role as a lesbian. The details of her character (other than her sexuality) are scarce, but it should be interesting to see how Sharma takes on this part.

Happy Holidays and World Peace!

2008-12-24T11:24:00.004-06:00

Some thing to chew on (as if you won't have enough) over the holidays.

"The description of homosexual orientation as evil, of course, is
linked to the view that women's physical subordination to men is intrinsic to nature and must be enforced. You cannot extricate the two concepts. The erasure of homosexuals is deeply, theologically connected to the subjugation of women."
-Andrew Sullivan

How big is your test tube?

2008-12-18T15:41:00.008-06:00

Showing that queers know how to titrate along with the best of them, Science Magazine recently featured some of the country's LGBT scientists. Featured along with the pack was Dr. Ajit Dash:

"The lack of visible mentors translates to junior faculty and postdocs as well. Ajit Dash, a postdoctoral fellow in biological engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) moved from the "relatively open-minded" metropolitan area of Bombay, India, to Boston, in part because of MIT's gay-friendly policies. However, despite the multiple student LGBT networks and organizations within MIT, there is no formal faculty group to provide mentoring for the students. "If people at the higher levels were encouraged to come out," says Dash, "it would create a more welcoming environment for future generations." "
Shattering the glass closet

Queeristani Travels: Canadian Journo Conquers Gay India

2008-12-14T15:21:00.009-06:00

The following is a post written by a friend of mine who is now in India doing some journalism for a Canadian Gay & Lesbian online newspaper called Xtra.ca (http://www.xtra.ca) . He wrote this little piece with Queeristan in mind, so enjoy :)

----------------------------
At long last, it's a good time to be gay in India.

Delhi's High Court seems on the verge of legalizing homosexuality. Pride parties are kicking off in cities across the country. Even Bollywood movies are featuring fun, outrageous flamers.

"It's like Canada in the 1960's," an Indian guy told me over coffee in Kolkata. Which means that most of the country's homos are still in the closet, but the door's about to burst open.

When the West talks about the modernization of India, it usually means the emergence of software companies and call centres. But I came to India to witness the modernatization of its attitudes.

I landed in Kolkata in late October and immediately embarked on a gay tour of one of my favourite countries. My guides are guys that I meet on the internet. In every city I go, I just need to meet one, and he introduces me to all his friends.

In the past month and a half, I've danced at the gay bar in Kolkata, marched with queer sex workers in Hyderabad and brunched with the out runners of Bangalore. I also had the honour of meeting a fantastic activist that I like to call "the gay rights guru of East India". And yes, I know that things still aren't peachy keen for everyone. Trans activists are being busted, the HIV/AIDS rate is way too high and bribery and extortion are still big problems for a lot of queers.

I'm a freelance reporter from Winnipeg, Canada, and every week, I'm writing all about my experiences on Canada's top GLBT news site, www.xtra.ca. My column is called "This ain't Mother Teresa's India". I invite all my Queeristani friends to check it out and make all the comments you want. Better yet, if you're in India, let me know how we can meet up. This year, I'm celebrating Christmas in Goa and New Year's in Mumbai. I'd love to know where the party's at.

Thanks for reading!

Gays = Terrorists!

2008-12-13T05:05:00.005-06:00

Pat Boone is at it again. Not only is he one of those archetypal narrow-minded Conservatives that you'd love to hate (ie thinks the theory of evolution is "absurd", all Democrats are unpatriotic, etc), but this one is even one notch crazier than the rest! I mean, c'mon - this is a man who wrote an editorial in the form of a fairytale where Prince Charming falls in love with a dwarf, catches AIDS, and then overdoses (wow, I felt a little crazy just typing that down).

Well, folks, this time he is trying his best to attack us from both sides. Boone calls the homosexuals of the US "sexual jihadists"and, with a lame attempt at comparing us to the terrorists that attacked Mumbai, he writes:

"Have you not seen the awful similarity between what happened in Mumbai and what's happening right now in our cities?
Oh, I know the homosexual "rights" demonstrations haven't reached the same level of violence, but I'm referring to the anger, the vehemence, the total disregard for law and order and the supposed rights of their fellow citizens. I'm referring to the intolerance, the hate seething in the words, faces and actions of those who didn't get their way in a democratic election, and who proclaim loudly that they will get their way, no matter what the electorate wants!
...What troubles me so deeply, and should trouble all thinking Americans, is that there is a real, unbroken line between the jihadist savagery in Mumbai and the hedonistic, irresponsible, blindly selfish goals and tactics of our homegrown sexual jihadists. Hate is hate, no matter where it erupts. And by its very nature, if it's not held in check, it will escalate into acts vile, violent and destructive."

Yawn. Good effort, but I don't think most people will buy that, Boone. Maybe try pitching it to some of those Palin supporters? I'm sure they'll bite.

Hate is Hate, in India or America

Weekly Mix Masala

2008-12-12T13:19:00.004-06:00

Nepal signs onto UN's 1st Gay Rights Statement -- America remains disturbingly silent.
The Advocate
Pink News

Pro IPC 377 government: Gays, not lack of education, should be blamed for HIV
Times of India

Trans in Trinidad, an interview with Jenny Jagdeo.
Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, Allsexuals, and Gays (JFLAG)

Gay Westerners travel to India in search for surrogate mothers.
Times of India

2nd Edition of Vanita's Same Sex Love in India released -- desi queer message more applicable than ever
Wall Street Journal

Mayor of Pune lends an ear to trans woes
Times of India

John Abraham speaks again on Dostana and shockingly reveals large gay populations in San Francisco, LA, and Miami!
But sadly, he misses the mark on gays:

“This is an option people have chosen for themselves or are born with; we should respect that.”

Times of India

Why Sikhism Is Naturally Amenable to Gay Marriage (Sikhism and Homosexuality, Part I)

2008-12-09T19:52:00.015-06:00

In light of Proposition 8, and the various religious arguments against gay marriage, I want to add a new perspective. Various policies regarding gay marriage in the Western world concern Sikhs. California, the home state of Prop 8, and Canada, which recently legalized same-sex marriage, contain high concentrations of the Sikh diaspora. In fact, the policies in Canada caused enough concern to generate some drama with the Sikh higher-ups (more on this later, in Sikhism and Homosexuality, Part II).

So in spite of the potential hate mail (if the wider world knew about queeristan) here is why I think that Sikhism unadulerated by cultural ideology is one of the few religions that is naturally poised to accept gay marriage.

The first point: the basic philosophy of Sikhism is that everyone is equal. It is one of the only religions that explicitly states that all sentient beings are equal. The Golden Temple, one of the most respected religious sites, has four entrances to symbolize this - anyone is welcome, regardless of their religion, color, caste, or gender. So it hardly seems in line with the religion that exceptions would be made to bar a specific group (in this case, LGBT's) from certain rights.

Secondly, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib is mum on the issue of gay marriage. All the religion promotes is a family lifestyle and marriage for all adherents because all Sikhs belong to the community and have a duty to further it. Hence, the solitary lifestyle is discouraged (no hot rogues a la the Wolverine for Sikhs). What options does this leave a gay Sikh? Either pretend to be straight and get married, or come out and still get married, but to someone of the same sex. But why even pretend to be straight? Philosophically, gay marriage and gay adoption don't seem antithetical to the Sikh religion - in fact, it seems essential for a gay Sikh to push for gay marriage and gay adoption to remain a a good Sikh.

Sikhism's foundation lies on it's tolerance and egalitarianism; it's structure promotes community, family, and marriage. Denying LGBT's the right to marry, adopt, and participate in the community doesn't seem to fit quite right.

While you wait for Part II, where we consider the realities rather than the philosophy, consider how accepting a religion will be when it has followers who have altered it's main symbol (the Khanda...click to see original form) into this:

Weekly Mix Masala

2008-12-05T12:00:00.004-06:00

An HIV-positive woman from Pakistan has been shunned by her in-laws who have taken away her children. She contracted HIV from her husband, now deceased, who was a drug addict.
The News

Gay Penguins! Need I say more?
Telegraph

Over 200 condom vending machines to be installed in Lucknow, India
The Times of India

Across the border love - a Pakistani student created a website to find more gay men has fallen in love with a man in India he met through the internet. Frustratingly, the article doesn't link to his website, but I think we found it. Hit us up - we're "Queer Desi." The site ripped off facebook (hey, all's fair in love...), and the only statement in it's Terms & Services is "Be decent and nice."
NDTV.com

Despite Prop 8, GLAAD has released a poll that shows a majority of US Adults favor legal protections the LGBT community. Unsuprisingly, the poll shows that those under 65, and especially people 18-34, are more supportive of LGBT rights.
GLAAD

Everybody and their mother is in this skit against Prop 8, but all I see is Margaret Cho
Funny or Die

The Maldives is, uhh, sinking...
CNN

Cyprus grants resident status to gay Iranian asylum seeker
Pink News

The Girl Effect

2008-12-04T22:57:00.003-06:00

World Aids Day

2008-12-01T23:59:00.000-06:00

An Intimate look at the Lawyers fighting against Section 377

2008-12-01T14:54:00.001-06:00

"It makes no sense. Corporate lawyers in India are paid upward of Rs 12 lakh a year; American law salaries (even post-Lehman) are close to a crore. And these are just starting salaries. Why, then, should India’s brightest young lawyers—the world at their feet—be working at minimum wage, even free, arguing for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in India? It just makes no sense.

A team of highly educated young lawyers has committed its time to this case. These young lawyers, four of whom are profiled here, are only a small slice of India’s horde of activist lawyers, many of whom have fought for years against Section 377.

VASUMAN KHANDELWAL, 27

‘The argument for decriminalising homosexuality is a mainstream one’

MAYUR SURESH, 28

‘Why is it the state’s business to regulate love?‘

SHIVANGI RAI, 27

‘We’re not just activists. We are first and foremost lawyers‘

SHRIMOYEE NANDINI GHOSH, 29

‘As a feminist, I understand the sheer wrongness of Section 377‘

Even these four have disparate stories. One is a hard-nosed Supreme Court lawyer, driven to the case by the obvious constitutional irregularity the cause. The others are more activist: a gay lawyer who wants to help his community, a feminist driven by middle-class guilt and pleasure, and a small-town girl hoping to empower herself and the world around her. But what links these stories is that all four could be anywhere else, earning far more. The global options available only highlight the choice they have made. The socially conscious lawyers of the 1970s fought on passion and belief. Version 2.0’s passion is matched by rigorous legal skills. This is their story."

Learn more about these 4 lawyers at 377 arguments, 4 Voices

Weekly Mix Masala

2008-11-30T19:03:00.005-06:00

================================================
Terrorist Attacks on Mumbai
||26.11.08 - 29.11.08||
Summary of Attacks -- Wikipedia
Sequence of Events -- BBC News
Recent Developments -- NYTimes
Wear White on 12/1 in Solidarity -- Facebook Event
================================================

Gays in India fear rules, blackmailers
The Washington Post

AIDS Sutra released this week, watch readings via webcast
SAJAforum

Dostana is (still) shaking up Bollywood
Bollywood films enter brave, gay world
Straight.com

Dostana in Pakistan
Pakistan Paindabad

John Abraham asks men to step it up
XPress

More Bollywood Gay News
Amisha Patel defends boyfriend's sexuality -- and no one cares
Bollywood News Blog

Konkona Sen Sharma jumps on the rainbow bandwagon
India Forums

Prop 8 News
Minorities fear trend from CA gay marriage ban
Reuters

A queer desi reaches out to LGBT Mormons
2015Place.com

Something Inspiring
All-girl rock band shakes Saudi Arabian establishment
NYTimes
Accolade's MySpace

Priyanka Speaks Up - Again

2008-11-24T23:21:00.011-06:00

Asked if she would ever consider playing a lesbian role, Priyanka Chopra responded,

"Why not? I would toy with the idea of playing a lesbian character if the role was well written and the script was rock solid. I'm all for equality and gay rights anyway."

Quick, someone give me a few million and I can make this happen. I have the screenplay and everything, I swear. Also, I wrote myself a leading role in the film...cough cough.

I can haz English

2008-11-24T22:59:00.003-06:00

Because we are so 4w3s0m3 (l0lz, l33tsp34k), we will be translating all of our videos and whatnots into English. Currently, we can translate Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati and bullshiiiiit.

You may have noticed this new development with our inaugural (be prepared for multiple occurences of this word until further notice. And by further notice, I mean Jan 20.) translation with this video: Salaam Zindagi Interviews Gay Men .

"Gay" Dostana banned in Pakistan

2008-11-24T11:53:00.004-06:00

For not even being a real "gay" movie, Dostana is sure being treated like one!

"A single bench of the high court passed the order on Friday on a writ petition filed by Khuram Khan. The court held that the movie propagates homosexuality, which is not only illegal in Islamic Republic of Pakistan but also considered a crime punishable by whipping, imprisonment, or even death, reported Indian paper DNA.

The petitioner maintained that Dostana promotes gay marriage which is prohibited in Islam and all other religions. Gay marriage is an atrocious and obscene act, more likely to be performed by someone of unsound nature, the petitioner said. Islam says a Muslim should neither commit obscene acts nor indulge in their propagation, he added. “Allah tells us in the Qur’an that He created everything in pairs.”

The petitioner then argued that Karan Johar’s Dostana highlights the gay theme and the Pakistan Film Censor Board should not allow its screening, as being sought by the film’s distributor in Pakistan.

The Lahore high court subsequently directed the chairman of Pakistan Film Censor Board not to allow screening of the film and furnish the transcript of Dostana before the court at the next hearing of the case."

India EU Film Initiative

UPDATE: The ban has been lifted for 4 theaters in Lahore. A country-wide screening will be allowed after the Pakistan Film Censor Board gives its final consent!

Weekly Mix Masala

2008-11-23T10:26:00.007-06:00

Condom ringtone, ads push sales in India! Listen to it HERE.
Yahoo! News

In Bangalore, two hijras held for abducting a 16 year old boy and forcing him to change his sex.
The Hindu

Also in Bangalore, police kick Hijras out of their homes in an act of "social cleansing"
Human Rights Watch

Dostana Reviews- what do YOU think??
Rediff India Abroad
Articles Base

“Why should homosexuals be looked down upon or singled out? It’s an individual’s take, as to how he or she would like to live their lives. That’s why I love the fashion industry. It’s the only industry that doesn’t discriminate, and encourages talent, whether you’re straight or gay!”
- Priyanka Chopra, from the film Dostana
News Network

Pakistan included in the world's top 10 countries with the most internet censorship! I guess that means no Queeristan for you guys :(
Techachino

Banning of Israeli same-sex couples from adopting or having a surrogate mother leads couples to find answers in India!
Outlook India

Open up your eyes, India! Kinsey-like report reveals Indian sexual practices
India Today

The Intervention - What's every Desi girl's secret? Gay porn, of course.

Nepal grants Same-sex marriage rights!

2008-11-23T10:05:00.002-06:00

"In a landmark verdict, the apex court in Nepal has given its consent to same-sex marriages, a move that beats off social taboos in the conservative valley.

The apex court on Monday directed the Maoist-led government in Nepal to formulate necessary laws to guarantee full rights to gays, including right to same-sex marriage.

"The court has instructed the government against making any discrimination on the basis of sex. This is a landmark decision for the sexual minorities and we welcome it," Sunil Babu Panta, a leading gay activist in South Asia and Nepal's only lawmaker in the Constituent Assembly representing the community, said."

Maybe we should get some tips from them??

Nepal SC approves same-sex marriage

Map: Counties against Prop 8 vs. Asian Population

2008-11-19T00:10:00.005-06:00

Here's a fun little diddy for your Wed. Brought to you by OCD and MS Paint. Bee-tee-dubz, out of all the counties that voted against Prop 8, only two of them had no asian populations. In case you can't tell from my ghetto map.

*Based on 2007 Projected figures from US Census. Asian-only population.

Losing the Battle but Winning the War

2008-11-18T16:35:00.013-06:00

Just two weeks ago, Barack Obama became the President-elect of the United States of America. And in a twist of fate California's notorious Proposition 8 also passed, effectively banning same-sex marriages in the Golden State. While similar anti-gay measures were passed in Florida, Arizona, and Arkansas, the California decision has stung our community the most.

In the past fourteen days there has been much finger-pointing as to who is truly responsible for getting this measure to pass. At first socially conservative African-Americans and Latino Americans were singled out for voting for a progressive presidential candidate while supporting this oppressive ballot question. Recently, The Church of Latter-Day Saints have been bearing much of the brunt after The New York Times revealed that significant Mormon donations may have tipped the scales. The outcry by the American gay community has been enormous. Perhaps some of you readers participated in the nationwide protests last weekend; it was queer mobilization to a scale not seen since Stonewall.

Nevertheless, one group remains relatively free from the Prop 8 backlash -- Asian-Americans (yes, that's us too). In the weeks leading to November 4th, The South Asian Journalist Association published that a majority of South Asians were against a ban on gay marriages. The South Asian Bar Association even endorsed NO on Prop 8, while the South Asian Network's director, Hamid Khan, spoke out against the measure as well.

On election day, the vote on Proposition 8 was split down the middle among Asians in California. According to exit polls, 51% of Asian-Americans voted against the ban while 49% supported it. Believe it or not, Asian-Americans came out on top in voting NO to Proposition 8. Out of the racial groups polled, Asians and Caucasians were the only two that voted as a majority against the measure. Check out the maps below!

County-by-County Breakdown of Prop 8 Voting Record vs. Asian-American Population

Prop 8 Map -- The Los Angeles Times
Asian-American Population Map -- US Census Bureau
NO on Prop 8 Poster courtesy of thaths on Flickr

Salaam Zindagi Interviews Gay Men

2008-11-17T21:08:00.005-06:00

NDTV, my new favorite Hindustani station (suck it ZeeTV) recently had a segment about gay men the talk show "Salaam Zindagi," but we only got a short clip. Because I'm so extra fabulous, I translated the whole damn thing. You know a 6-minute clip takes a freakin hour to translate?

So I'm wondering where that guy teaches, because I'm pretty sure a teacher in the US who came out on TV as a gay rights activist would have some issues teaching again. Indians are cool like that. You know, not really supporting gay marriage and then doing weird shit like electing a female PM. Whatevz.

Notes: Where is Mr. Deepak getting his statistics from? Someone tell me!! And if anyone has the rest of this show and feels like translating it too, send it ovahhh.

Translation:

Hostess: "...accusations are made, questions are asked, and torture takes place too. Manish we have met earlier and now months later..Manish, this time since we last saw you, tell us how it was"

Manish: "It was a hectic time; a lot of people who are homosexual like myself contacted me...in a certain sense, I gave a lot of counseling. I liked it because people didn't want to come out before, people don't want to show themselves. It's hard because it's so emotional and the family pressure is so strong and people can't live their lives the way they want to.

H: "You also had quite a bit of family pressure, along with societal pressures. So did any of the family pressure alleviate when you came out, and discussed it openly?

M: My sister and my aunt, who I never would have imagined, gave me so much support and lovingly accepted met. I've been close to my aunt since I was a kid. She used to pressure me to get married, but after she saw me on the show (for the first time), she came up to me and hugged me and said sweetly "I'm proud of your strength for not bending to pressure to enter a relationship (getting married to a woman) that wouldn't have worked for you. She really appreciated me, and actually I want to say on this show "I really love you, bhua (aunt), thank you so much."

H: Knowing yourself, accepting yourself is truly something that requires a lot of strength. Saying it is easy, but may be difficult for many peoplet. You haven't met Deepak, let me introduce you - Deepak Kashyip. A gay rights activist and a teacher. He's here today because when I first met him we spoke about our episode on gay rights, and he felt it was a good opportunity to come here and speak. Deepak, you said after seeing the show you gained some strength and felt that you could speak about his openly.

D: I will say that the show was one big reason I came here. But a even bigger reason I came, I want to say: If there is anything causing you problems, there is a simple reason - either you don't understand it (being gay) fully, or the truth that you know, you don't want to accept. Often, I used to go to church and to temple and blame God that this is your problem, this is your mistake. But, later on I realized that you can't blame anyone for this. And when I found out this isn't a medical disorder and there are homosexuals in the wider animal kingdom, I realized this is a law of evolution - you can't do anything about it. So, I personally believe that I found out the truth about this and that I accepted it.

H: Your mom and dad know about this truth, and now accept you/understand you even better. The dilemma of explaining this to them, has that gotten easier, Deepak?

D: My dad always taught me that if I'm not harming the environment, hurting myself or hurting anyone else, than I have the complete right to choose the path to my happiness.

H: That's great. That is a great thing you said. If you're not causing harm to anyone, you're not pulling any shadiness, you're not talking shit about anyone, then why don't you have the equal right to being happy? Why should you be ridiculed, and laughed at? You (Deepak) are a gay rights activist, you have participated in the recent gay pride parade, why did you think of becoming a gay rights activist?

D: 85% of gay Indian men are married. And of those 85%, 90% of those men are actively gay outside their marriage. I want to work for others too.

H: Thank you for coming on this show. I have hopes that your talk will help others find the courage to accept themselves. So we had this talk with people that by society's standards maybe aren't "normal," aren't "straight" but consider themselves normal, and might see us as abnormal. Does anyone have any questions?

Question by girlie: I want to ask how much your friends supported you when you decided to come out?

D: I am lucky, because, say I had 100 friends, all of those 100 friends accepted me. It is really rare that anyone looked askance at me, otherwise I was completely accepted. They don't love me because I'm gay - they love me for me. If I was straight, even then my sexuality wouldn't matter to them as much as it matters that I am a human being.

H: Fall in love with someone, accept someone because of who they are.

THE END!

Weekly Mix Masala

2008-10-29T23:28:00.009-05:00

The Kinsey Institute's International Encylopedia of Sexuality is all available online. Articles about India: 516; Nepal: 714; Sri Lanka: 972. For those of you virgins to the Kinsey name - Kinsey is considered the father of sexology. Go watch Kinsey, the movie, for a better idea.

The Kinsey Institute

Check out the website of famous Indian photographer Farrokh Chotia - he's photographed the likes of Aishwariya and Lakshmi Menon. Note the, ahem, color differences between the "ideal" beauty of the Bollywood stars and the more varied features of the legitimate models.

farrokchothia.com

Can't swallow the idea of real live Indian porn? Well there's a comic alternative for you, Savita Bhabhi. Unfortch, no queer scenes as of yet, but it's delightfully ironic.

Savita Bhabhi

Apple donates $100,000 to fight against Proposition 8, which is on the California ballot to eliminate the right of gay marriage from the state constitution. You know, I never would have guessed...

The Tech Chronicles

Turns out that Indians in the US aren't as conservative as we sometimes think. Indians are strong supporters of Obama, and additionally *drumroll* - A majority of Indians in California are against a constitutional amendment banning gay-marriage (aka Prop 8).

SAJA Forum

Queer South Asian Cinema

2008-10-12T20:07:00.003-05:00

Below is the trailer for The Ode, Nilanjan Neil Lahiri's adaptation of Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla's novel, Ode to Lata:

While the film looks compelling enough, I'm a little disappointed with this trailer. Ode to Lata is, in my opinion, one of the most important books by a desi writer in a long time. Part of the book's strength is Dhalla's unwillingness to allow Ali's story to become mere soap opera. Rather, Dhalla weaves together a complex literary narrative that relies heavily on tropes of contemporary Indian cinema--Ode to Lata is a most cinematic piece of literature. When I heard that an adaptation was in the works I was excited by the prospect of a desi film that tackled the issue of queer film spectatorship. Imagine the creative possibilities of a film about a queer Bollywood cinephile! Yet, from what I can tell from the trailer above the film adaptation has removed any and all reference to Indian cinema, including the 'Lata' of the title. Seems like a missed opportunity to me. We'll have to wait and see.

Voices From The Community: Fighting for Human Rights or Battling Ethnocentricism?

2008-10-02T17:27:00.001-05:00

I come on Queeristan to read for news on Section 377. I notice a lovely debate posted by a fellow blogger (http://queeristan.blogspot.com/2008/09/getting-ball-rolling.html). It made me question myself and my thoughts on decriminalising homosexuality in India.

I would love to say I am for human rights, but I’m also a huge fan of respect. Sometimes I find myself making very ethnocentric remarks, like “In Canada, such discrimination is illegal, I don’t see why they do that here” or “North America has a different opinion on this topic and it seems to work better for us”. They really are ethnocentric remarks, because my experiences are solely Canadian. And those experiences temper my judgement and consequently my actions.

Human rights are important to me, but to what extent can I fight for them in another country? It reminds me of those groups worldwide boycotting the Olympics in China, or even the US’s War in Iraq. Granting democracy in another country is a very ethnocentric ideology, because the ‘if it works in my country, it will work in yours too’ phrase is reverberated exponentially to prove ‘my country works better than your country’.

What I’m trying to say here is that as much as I would love to see my Indian homosexual brethren to live happily as who they are in their own country, the laws must reflect society. The video posted by Samsaricanu featured a panellist who said: “in 2000, there was a survey conducted in 41 countries that should homosexuality be accepted in society… in India the results were 7% for [decriminalisation of homosexuality] and 63% against [decriminalisation of homosexuality]…” If 63% of responses believe that homosexuality should not be legalised, then why should I say that they are ‘wrong’? Laws should reflect society’s views. Human rights, as much as I hate to say it, differ from country to country. What I see as a human right back in Canada or here in Germany could be different from that in India or China or any other place for that matter.

With my background and environmental upbringing, I can see, as a Canadian through our legal and freedom system, that decriminalising homosexuality is undoubtedly the way to go, hands down, no doubt about it, etc. But I’m not Indian. I am not a citizen and I really do not know exactly how culture is, how it is defined, and how the overall population feels about certain issues. So when I make a comment that “homosexuality should be decriminalised in India”, am I making a statement for human rights? Or am I just being ethnocentric?

The Home Ministry ain't real friendly

2008-09-26T22:48:00.007-05:00

The Home Ministry of India dealt a devastating blow to the gay rights movement earlier today. P.P. Malhotra, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) and lead counsel for the ministry, declared that they were not going to overturn IPC 377:

"Obviously, we will take a stand against the scrapping of Section 377 IPC that classifies sex between two men as a criminal offence. We object to their plea."

The discrepancy between Health Minister Ramadoss' progressive politics and the Home Ministry's regressive attitude is unsettling at best. Although the petition of the Naz Foundation does not have the complete support of the state, the final decision is still in the hands of the Delhi High Court.

Fortunately the bench has some clear problems with the state's anti-IPC 377 arguments.

"To Malhotra's argument that Section 377 is required to contain spread of HIV virus, the bench said: 'Why don't you ban sexual intercourse (involving HIV infected person) if you want to contain the spread of HIV?'"

We hope the judges continue their non partial investigation of this case and we are waiting anxiously for their final verdict.

Centre against scrapping of law outlawing homosexuality

Gay ban: Court makes moralist government squirm

Getting the Ball Rolling!

2008-09-23T21:50:00.004-05:00

NDTV ran a segment about two weeks ago on the decriminalization of homosexuality. Some good arguments are raised and most of the panel (and the host) seems to be in our favor. Check it out!

The Moment of Truth

2008-09-21T20:07:00.006-05:00

The final (let's hope!) hearings for the argument against section 377 started in the Delhi High Court this Thursday. Justices A.P. Shah and S. Muralidhar are being much, much more receptive to hearing our case than the previous Bench was, listening to Anand Grover's (of Naz India) arguments and not giving as much attention to the opposing lawyers. Which serves them right, as one of them had the audacity to state that HIV doesn't really exist. Vikram D., who has been updating us with first-hand accounts of the case, writes:

"What is also encouraging is the sense that the judges are keeping their focus firmly on the fact that the petition does NOT ask for the law to be scrapped, but instead asks for it to be modified, or 'read down', so that it does not apply to consensual adult. This is important because people keep getting this wrong, sometimes quite wilfully as in the case of Amod Kanth and perhaps the Law Ministry, and then arguing that the law needs to stay because it guards against paedophilia.

Which we were always clear about and that is why at no point do we ask for the law to go, but just for it to be changed so as not to apply to consenting adults. But its true that while one is in full flow arguing against 377 its easy to get carried away and sound as if you want the whole law to go. Anand apparently came close to doing this a few times and everytime the judges brought him back to the 'reading down' part and not asking for wholesale scrapping. The hopeful interpretation of this is that the judges want to make sure that the case that is being made is quite solid and watertight and not confused by arguments of paedophilia or male rape. Keep the focus on 'adult' and 'consensual'."

Mr. Grover finished his arguments at around 5pm on Friday. The case will resume later this week!

If you're ever confused, the Olympics Commitee will help you out

2008-09-19T16:21:00.009-05:00

In feeble attempts to calm myself from flipping out over the imminent demise of the human race, I've stuffed myself with virtual ice-cream, staring all day Michael Phelps. Did you know he's double-jointed? Wonder if all his bones are double-jointed, eh? Apparently, his physical abnormalities (some say abnormal, I say hot) are well-known to have given him an advantage as a swimmer, allowing him to make Olympic history.

Now as much as I love Michael Phelps, I'm going to have to use him as a political point here. This double-jointedness and bodily abnormalities shit - all new news to me. But you know what's not new? The fact that the Olympic Committee created a gender determination lab to determine if women atheletes were really women. No male athletes were tested. For the sake of actually using the globs of cashmoney I spent to get my Philosophy degree, let's try to follow their logic. Understandably, they don't want to give any of the athletes an unfair advantage. The assumption is being male gives the athletes an advantage (regardless of type of sport - remember what we learned in gym class? Women have better endurance) and that they are in the right to disqualify any player with an unfair advantage. But if you apply these rules to Michael Phelps, shouldn't he be disqualified as well? He has a physical abnormality that clearly gives him an advantage over other swimmers. Testing positiviely has male because of chromosomal variance does not give female athletes any clear obvious advantages.

In the 2006 Asian games, Santhi Soundarajan, a middle distance runner, was stripped of her silver medal after failing to test postiviely as a woman (according to the qualifications of "female" from the International Olympic Committee). Afterwards, several articles stated that she is intersexed. Something, like Michael Phelps, that she had no control over. Why is the Olympics commitee taking such a strong interest in female gender and trying to figure out exactly what females are? If the reason really is to remove any unfair advantages, then Michael Phelps clearly violated that rule. What's disturbing is the large international institutions are still fumbling with understanding anything outside the straight male model.

The Pink Visa Scandal

2008-09-12T06:30:00.001-05:00

This irritates the hell out of me. Time and time again we hear stories about how openly gay men from countries like Iran, Bangladesh, etc. are forced to plead for their lives by requesting asylum from other countries. Unfortunately, the wonderful country of Australia, which frequently grants asylum to the homos, is getting duped.

"IMMIGRATION officers are investigating claims that a Sydney migration agent hired a gay sex worker in a bizarre bid to gain political asylum for his clients.
On three occasions in May last year, Raymond Solaiman took Indian and Bangladeshi tourists to visit a male prostitute in Kings Cross.
It is alleged Mr Solaiman paid cash to the escort who agreed to be photographed in sexually explicit positions with the men. He later used the photos as supporting evidence in protection visa applications, which claimed his clients were homosexual and had suffered persecution in their homeland.
The Department of Immigration was alerted to a potential problem last year when as many as a dozen applications arrived, all containing photographs with the same backdrop and male partner."

Wow, this whole story sounds like it could make for a really bad movie (ie Chuck & Larry). Thoughts?

The Pink Visa Scandal

Think Hatke

2008-09-11T21:22:00.004-05:00

Another Virgin ad with a queer twist - Do we like it or do we hate it?

New Queer Desi Channel on YouTube

2008-09-08T15:21:00.004-05:00

A while back, we told you about IndusGay, gay dating site aimed at the South Asian community. Well now the creators of the site have begun their very own YouTube channel. Check it out!

Go ahead and subscribe, be sure to send some comments/suggestions their way! Below is a piece centered on the SF AIDS Walk:

Voices From the Community: Are South Asian Closets Different?

2008-09-04T18:36:00.001-05:00

You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a bit defensive or cloistered in myself in this post, because it’s hard putting yourself out. It’s a pretty uncomfortable position (like the back of a volkswagon).

About a year ago, I wrote about my participation in Upper Caste Supremacy (i.e. casteism). I want to continue this line of discussion (regardless of whether anyone else is interested) because I was encouraged to do so by a good friend whose judgement I trust on emotional matters. She suggested tying this analysis of neurosis to sexuality.

To be honest, I don’t really understand it, which is why I made this an open thread. I can put forward some simple possible hypothetical relationships. body = dirty = shame. sexuality = bodily desire x desire for other bodies = double shame. And there’s always Freud and Foucault and blah blah blah, but it’s…a bit theoretical. A basic question I’m struggling with is whether or not something as personal as sexuality and specifically neuroses associated can be really be taxonomized with any degree of certitude, let alone “from below”.

(haha, very funny, you think you’re so clever–we all thought that when we read that phrase).

And even if it can, how does it intersect with self? personality? gender? money? power? For example, I have a hard time believing that the intersection of gender and sexuality constructs “men” and “women” in ways that are the same in terms of how they approach sexuality in terms of fluidity / rigid categories - but I wonder to what extent this is a product of middle-class/rich American gender construction (the waters of the model minorities among us). At the same time, gender gets read into same-sex relationships too - bottom, top, butch, femme, etc. Hetero/homo/bi/queer sexuality? I was on a panel about sexuality at a middle-class ethnic conference in the U.S. a while back, and most of the people in the audience, really unsurprisingly, were hetero people who related very closely to the idea of being “different” from their parents’ expectations in terms of who they brought home. Not that I ever bring anyone home. And then there’s race - is the parental thing really a South Asian thing even among straight people? Even a White straight friend of mine once remarked to me that he thought it was a misfortune for straight people that they never HAVE to come out and mark a breaking point from their parents, with which I largely agree (about effects, anyway).

But the point being that this is all in need of a great deal of construction and deconstruction in order for it to be made sensible…which is a questionable goal to begin with. The complicatedness is really not that different from any other identity marker that’s so personal, so implicated with who you are that the very idea of becoming an object of your own analysis (let alone someone else’s) is frightening, gross, disempowering, or angering; what identit(ies) and what reactions you have depend, I guess on which ones are closest to home in your life experience, and the extent to which its socially and personally dealt with. For me, I think the difficulties are one of the reasons I’ve been able to contribute the LEAST titillating item on sexuality ever created in the history of the Internet, but it’s actually pretty humbling in a good way to remember your lessons in foucault.

And at least we’ll get entertaining spam

Anyway, if you are willing to open up and share stories in the comments, it would be a wonderful gift to all of us. And if not, well, I understand. I only just today got up the courage to ask a lovely family member, who’s um, prone to fits of voicing not-nice-and/or-stupid-things-about-the-queerfolk if she’ll come to my (hypothetical) same-sex wedding.

Believe me, I understand. Look at this post full of avoidance and obfuscation! And they ask why we use hifalutin words

Final word: enjoy your path to liberation

- from the blog, pass the roti

Fashionable Poverty

2008-09-03T16:40:00.015-05:00

The New York Times ran a great piece a few days ago on a controversial ad campaign launched by Vogue India.

Vogue India’s August issue present[s] a 16-page vision of supple handbags, bejeweled clutches and status-symbol umbrellas, modeled not by runway stars or the wealthiest fraction of Indian society who can actually afford these accessories, but by average Indian people.

The spread raises some questions regarding the difference between creativity and social responsibility. These models, who on average make less than $1.25 a day, are showcasing items upwards of $1,000. How can one reconcile the vast disparity? Unfortunately, Vogue India editor, Priya Tanna, does not. She states that the critics should "lighten up," adding that "with fashion, you can’t take it that seriously." Tanna's gaucherie rebuttal is a slap in the face to not only India's serious poverty problem, but to the mission of fashion as a whole.

Had this campaign been driven by a more profound cause than mere shock and awe, I would have thought twice before rejecting it as a sophomoric attempt at creativity. Tanna confesses that the works bear no significant meaning, but even the most amateur enthusiast understands that great fashion is created with a great purpose -- without it, what is left is, well, meaningless.

In Vogue India magazine, a child from a poor family modeling a Fendi bib, which costs about $100.

A man modeling a Burberry umbrella in Vogue that costs about $200.

Weekly Mix Masala

2008-08-31T09:55:00.004-05:00

More Reviews of A Jihad for Love
Arab American News
Bay Area Reporter
San Fransico Bay Times

Behind the veil lives a thriving Muslim sexuality
Sydney Morning Herald

Victims blame Nepali PM for floods
SindhToday.net

HIV positive Indian boy wishes to be sent back to Pakistani jail
Pakistan Daily
The News

Gay and Democracy- how queers are becoming more involved in politics.
Times of India

Carriers of HIV ignored in India
NDTV

Activists want British apology for IPC 377
The Independent

Essay on homosexuality in India
CounterCurrents.org

Health Minister Ramadoss champions gay rights
Sahara Samay

How to combat distance in fighting India's war against HIV/AIDS
Reuters India

UAE contradicts itself in terms of lifestyle
International Herald Tribune

Sanjaya, from American Idol, returns!

Mark your calendars - Sept 18!

2008-08-27T08:54:00.002-05:00

The IPC Section 377 case is scheduled for Sept 18-20th. Hopefully this date sticks! Although it has not really been used to charge or arrest LGBT folk, Section 377 must go! As long as it remains part of the Penal Code, queers will be harassed, blackmailed, and extorted by others who threaten to reveal their sexual "misconduct". Section 377 also presents many legal hurdles, as illustrated by the following:

A gay-rights activist at the Alternative Law Forum, Ponni Arasu, says gays and lesbians who live together are sometimes charged with other crimes, such as kidnapping, by disapproving parents.

"We have gone to court many times where we actively cover up the nature of the relationship between two women because we do not want to complicate the case. You just want to get rid of the kidnapping charge so they can go on and live their lives. And that is because of a law like Section 377. If we were not actively criminalized by such a law, then we would be able to go to court and say, 'They are lovers. They are adults. And they have the right to live with each other,'" said Arasu.

Indian's anti-gay law set for biggest court challenge

Underground Social Justice (...literally)

2008-08-26T15:56:00.008-05:00

A few weeks ago we told you about the publication of an awesome compilation of stories dealing with those living with HIV/AIDS in India. Well, the same people releasing AIDS Sutra are sponsoring a 15-day photography exhibition in Delhi's Rajiv Chowk Metro Station. Avahan, an NGO sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, hopes the public will absorb the works and begin questioning the stigma attached to this disease. The photos are actually taken from AIDS Sutra, they illustrate each of the sixteen chapters in the compilation. The works have been enlarged and captioned, they highlight sex workers, hijras, IV drug users, MSMs, and other groups considered at high risk for HIV.

The exhibit was opened by Indian Health Minister and Anti-IPC 377 ally, Ambumani Ramadoss. In recent months, Ramadoss has become increasingly vocal in the people's fight to repeal the British artifactual code criminalizing homosexual behavior. He cites structural issues (like IPC 377) and social stigma as the biggest obstacles India must overcome before the nation's HIV epidemic can be controlled. Rajiv Chowk is India's second largest financial, commercial and business center, thousands of people pass through its metro station daily -- talk about some great exposure!

Positively a Runaway Groom

2008-08-25T16:01:00.012-05:00

The pressure of marriage is something many of us will face at some point in our lives. However, Chennai would-be groom, Satish, has dealt with his marital pressure in a rather unique way. Satish was all set to marry the girl chosen out for him by his parents; the couple was engaged and a wedding date was set in early September. However, unknown to the parents or the bride was the fact that this Tamil heart already belonged to someone else. Satish has always been in love with his college sweetheart and a marriage to someone else suddenly felt impossible.

So this South Indian techie used some ingenuity and forged a lab report claiming that he was HIV positive. He presented the evidence to his future in-laws in tears and conveniently wiggled his way out of the predicament. Or so he thought. Something about the story must have seemed specious, because the in-laws called the lab to verify the results and discovered that Satish never even got an HIV test.

Now poor Satish is, as they say, out of the frying pan and into the fire. The bride's family has called and authorities and Satish has been slapped cases under Sections 420 (cheating) and 4 (1) of Prevention of Women Harassment Act. In a last ditch effort he offered to marry the girl once again, but not surprisingly the family turned him down.

Oh Satish, perhaps it's the balance of the universe at work or just rotten luck, but be forewarned runaway grooms (and brides), faking an HIV positive test may not be the best way out of marriage. I'll be surprised if this story doesn't make its way into a Bollywood plot.

"Is India ready for a Brokeback Mountain?"

2008-08-24T09:43:00.000-05:00

The title of an article in Telhelka "Is India ready for a Brokeback Mountain?" refers to John Abraham and Abhishek Bachan's latest film, Dostana, in which they play two guys who (ARE PRETENDING TO) play gay in the film. Can someone please tell me how that's considered even remotely close to an Indian version of Brokeback? Anywho, Telhelka interviews Karan Johar on this new film:

In Kal Ho Na Ho, you had a gay subplot. In this film the fake gay relationship is the main thread of the story. Do you think you will ever make a film that is actually about a gay couple?

I learnt something from making Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. I learnt that it’s possible to make a Rs 70 crore film about infidelity with stars as big as Shah Rukh Khan. And people accepted it. So I will push the boundaries with each of my films. People judged me far too quickly. They decided that I would make only mushy films but I will break new ground every year. We have to leave behind the tone of the films we made in the 80s and the 90s. But is India ready for a big, serious film like Brokeback Mountain yet? I would say it won’t go down too well yet. But we will open the doors for other filmmakers in the future.

Communities who have made major contributions to cinema have been oddly subject to terrible stereotyping on screen. Like Muslims and Anglo-Indians in Bollywood. Do you think the industry is homophobic?
I don’t think people confident in their own skills would be homophobic. If you are educated and have been brought up in an urban milieu it’s quite ridiculous if you are homophobic. It either means you are insecure or you have never read a book. Or that you are in denial of your own orientation. Homophobia speaks volumes about who you are. That’s as far as the industry is concerned. As filmmakers I think we have a great responsibility to be sensitive to the feelings of all communities. We Asians are an emotionally volatile and dramatic lot. Tarun and his team have made a film that is fun but does not poke fun. It is not callous and does not hurt the dignity of gay people in any way. It may shock a small part of the population, but I think most people would enjoy it.

What do you feel about being a gay icon?
It’s very flattering to be an icon to any community. I have been asked many times about my own orientation but I will never discuss my personal life. People can look at me or look down at me, I don’t care. What I do and where I do it and who I do it with is nobody’s business but mine.

Hopefully this movie will break stereotypes, rather than build on them for laughs. In the meantime, we're loving the body shots that are in this teaser!

Is India ready for a Brokeback Mountain?

Weekly Masala Mix

2008-08-22T18:13:00.017-05:00

MUMBAI PRIDE 2008 -- pictures and reviews

The Times of India

Ottawa Citizen

365 Gay

DNA

Boston's MASALA garners attention at their booth during the Independence Day festival!
New England Blade

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funds the world's first condom ringtone in India to promote safer sex
Softpedia
Listen to the ringtone here!

Delhi study finds abused wives at heightened risk for HIV
The Telegraph

NGO launches project Sankalp, an HIV prevention program in Karnataka
Mangalorean.com

Director, Madhur Bhandarkar, tosses around idea of a "Bollywood Brokeback Mountian"
Times of India

India's second candidate for an HIV vaccine reaches a milestone
The Telegraph

My Big Fat Straight Wedding - Andrew Sullivan explains why gay marriage is not really "gay" marriage
The Atlantic

An HIV-positive woman who has never shown symptoms of the virus might provide insights into HIV/AIDS vaccine development!
KaiserNetwork.org

Daivd Gere, brother of Richard Gere, subject of documentary on being a gay family in India
Out In India—A Family's Journey
The Times of India

India launches first HIV health insurance
Only Insurance

Health minister stressed need to scrap Section 377
Indian Express

UK study shows that ethnic minorities with similar sexual behavior show different rates of HIV infection
AIDSmap

Manipur's work to eradicate TB is threatened by the state's rising HIV infections
Panos London

More of LOGO Online's The Click List

2008-08-22T00:02:00.010-05:00

Best Mates
a flim by Maninderpal Sahota

"Raj is having serious relationship problems with his girlfriend. He decides to meet up with his old University friend Tom for a drink at the pub. Tom is also having a tough time, he and his wife are struggling with the demands of their toddler. At the pub they are determined to escape their complicated lives."

An Olympic Quickie

2008-08-21T11:19:00.016-05:00

A few days ago we wrote about some hunky brown athletes competing in Beijing at this year's Olympics. Turns out that boxer-turned-model, Vijendar Kumar, has won the bronze in the sport's middleweight division. And, my, does he look fine. Does anyone else see Bollywood in his near future?

One (Brown) Man Show

2008-08-19T17:41:00.009-05:00

Snehal Desai debuted a five performance run of his introspective show last week in San Francisco. Finding Ways to Prove You're NOT an al-Qaeda Terrorist When You're Brown (and other stories of the gindian) is a compilation of monologues deleving into queer and South Asian identities. Desai recently completed his MFA at Yale in directing; he was on the straight and narrow path to law school, however, it was during final undergrad years at Emory when his passion for the arts materialized.

Finding Ways... follows the protagonist, Akash, as he moves from a small town in Nebraska to eventually India and finally back to the US. Layered on this journey is the voice of the performer himself, another character created by Desai. The performer is forced to reconcile his own sexuality as he acts out the story of Akash. The ongoing interaction between the actor and who he is acting adds to the complex beauty of the show.

In effect, Desai has created a enriching perspective of issues conflicting gay South Asians. He weaves not only queer themes but themes related to the subcontinent and the effects of the diaspora. Although you might have missed his five shows in SF, check out his official website to see where and what he is up to next!

Review in The Bay Area Reporter

Interview with Desai in Oasis Magazine

An Olympic Treat

2008-08-17T10:57:00.001-05:00

Now that the media's Phelps Phever has been settling down, Queeristan wants to take a glance at a few brown Olympians who can match Phelp's charm and err...physique.

Abhinav Bindra may look like the typical Indian-next-door, but his gold medal in shooting earned him a place in history as well as face-time during his country's independance day celebrations. While Bindra may not look identical to Phelps in low-rise swimming trucks, his modesty and solid character are definately his charms.

I'm surprised US gymnast, Raj Bhavsar, has not been getting more screentime at these Olympics. Bhavsar missed making the US team in both 2004 and 2008, securing instead the alternate position. After Paul Hamm's injury barred him from the games, Bhavsar was called in, and boy did he shine. The men's gymnastic team earned a bronze medal after a practically flawless performance by Bhavsar. A South Asian American, Raj has got some interesting stuff to say about the ups and downs of his carreer.

Good looking AND a good heart, what a combo!

And last, but not least, I'm keeping our eyes on boxer, Vijender Kumar. Kumar has made it to the quarterfinals for the middleweight category; he will play Carlos Gongora of Equador on Wednesday. He is a boxer by day, but Kumar is a model by night. Featured in India's Maxim and other magazines, Vijender's killer looks may pack more than his killer punch. Kumar, however, has clear goals -- he wants to fight in Madison Square Garden and to be promoted by none other than Don King.

Why India needs more HIV/AIDS awareness:

2008-08-15T15:14:00.003-05:00

"An Indian couple who were infected with the virus that can lead to AIDS have committed suicide after killing their three children, police in Mumbai say. Relatives say the couple had been depressed by news that their daughter also had the HIV virus.
Police say the parents hanged themselves after poisoning their children, aged between five and 10. India has one of the largest numbers of HIV-positive people in the world and they suffer serious social stigma."

Indian HIV parents kill children

Weekly Mix Masala

2008-08-15T13:40:00.003-05:00

Queeristan would like to wish India and Pakistan very happy 61st birthdays! We hope everyone is enjoying the celebrations all over the world!

Profile of Hanif Kureishi, screenwriter of 1985 queer flick, My Beautiful Laundrette
NY Times

Minister Ramadoss' statement gives gays hope in India
Hindustani Times

Review for A Jihad for Love
Los Angeles Times

HIV and homosexuality in Pakistan research report
AidsPortal

Fellow Queeristani, Naful Khan, comes out!
The Times

A profile of novelist, Manju Kapur
Jabberwock (from August's Elle)

Queeristani Book Club

2008-08-14T15:37:00.007-05:00

Queeristanis, be on the look out for an unique anthology of stories based on people living with HIV/AIDS in South Asia. AIDS Sutra is a collaborative product of some of the greatest writers found in the subcontinent. The publication has been funded by Avahan, India's leading AIDS initiative of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Salman Rushdie, Kiran Desi, and Vikram Sheth are only a few of the many contributors to this anthology. Nobel Prize winner and noted social activist, Amartya Sen, has penned the book's foreword. A total of sixteen writers have travelled the across the subcontinent, exploring the impact of HIV/AIDS in countless cross-sections of society. The end-result is no doubt a groundbreaking commentary on the growing situation in South Asia.

AIDS Sutra will be released this fall, look out for it in bookstores in October. And if you are a bit antsy like myself, go ahead and pre-order it at Amazon.com here!

Want to review us on stumbleupon?

2008-08-14T00:00:00.002-05:00

Stumble It!

Weekly Mix Masala

2008-08-09T06:11:00.003-05:00

Trikone Australia puts on its first South Asian Queer film festival! Aug 15-17th!
MCA

Inborn homosexuality or media hype? Islam Online discusses the issue...
Islam Online

Openly gay Ayush Maheshwari sells his 150 kilos to become the next 'big' reality show host
Times of India

Indian Health Minister wants to "give gays a break"
Hindustan Times

Muslim women in India design new marriage contract
Women's eNews

Ahh! Castration law for transgendered triggers outrage in Sweden!
The Local

More News from Sweden - Apparantly they love our prince
NDTV

Queer, South Asian sex advice column!
(Queer)ies: Your Personal Sex Advice Kiosk

The playwright and director, Chetan Datar, has passed away. Chetan used themes of homosexuality and gender bending in many of his plays.

Pride of Bollywood

2008-08-07T09:45:00.004-05:00

Dressed in traditional South Asian garb, the desis in Vancouver's pride parade made quite a sight as they partied on the beautifully decorated float this weekend. Sher Vancouver, Trikone Vancouver, Trikone Northwest from Seattle, and Namaste Vancouver collaborated together to create the stunning theme- Pride of Bollywood.

Pictures taken by Shahraz Kassam and submitted by Amar Sangha

I Can't Think Straight

2008-08-05T15:53:00.004-05:00

Shamin Sarif has come out with a second lesbian movie, I Can't Think Straight, which is bound to be as critically-acclaimed as her first GLBT-interest flick, The World Unseen. Unlike some of the other recently released lesbian movies with South Asian leads, something tells me that this is actually one worth noting.

Ultrabrown

AIDS Awareness

2008-08-04T01:50:00.004-05:00

I just watched Saawariya last night and I was looking for the songs on Youtube and I came across this video that was done. The main actor in Saawariya (Ranbir) is featured in the video about raising awareness about AIDS. I think it is awesome that this was created. The efforts of the actors and actresses in "My Brother...Nikhil" was also something that I saw as an accomplishment in the Bollywood advertisements. I just wanted to share it. :)

Review: A Jihad for Love

2008-08-02T16:15:00.007-05:00

Parvez Sharma's important documentary A Jihad for Love is receiving some well-deserved acclaim. After hearing buzz about this film for months, I was lucky enough to attend a screening, here in Chicago, at which Sharma fielded questions from a small but inquisitive audience.

A Jihad for Love follows a series of queerly-inclined folks of various nationalities (South Africa, India, Turkey, France...) as they attempt to confront the seemingly irreconcilable conflict between their Islamic faith and their same-sex desires. Some offer revised interpretations of the Qur'an, some hope to emigrate to escape social (and sometimes political/legal) dangers, and still others are wracked by guilt and shame about their sexual preference.

Sharma's decision to film subjects in a variety of national contexts highlights the immense diversity in beliefs and practices across the Muslim community. Ultimately though the film fails to fully interrogate the profound importance of Islam in these peoples' lives; we get that Islam is important to them, but not exactly how faith functions in daily life and in the formation of identity. Islam (and more broadly, Religion) is portrayed as a given--a static, stable system of belief that exists as is; a force with which it is possible to argue, but rarely to refashion.

Nonetheless, the film packs a substantial emotional wallop in its presentation of complex, intelligent people struggling to (re)define themselves. At its core A Jihad for Love opens up a space for insightful discussion, no small feat for a small-budget documentary released in an era defined by severe anti-Islamic rhetoric.

Weekly Mix Masala

2008-08-01T06:31:00.003-05:00

Just like always, taboos about sex prevent HIV prevention. This time, in Pakistan.
New York Times

Bombay High Court aquits two Britons of charges on pedophilia
Times of India

In Australia, a lesbian couple tries to sue their doctor when their in vitro results in two babies instead of one...
Times of India

When Kiren Met Karen review. After all the hype before the movie, this reviewer finds the movie disappointing
AfterEllen.com

New book sheds light on gay life in the Muslim world.
PRWeb

Headless Homosexuals

2008-07-30T08:59:00.000-05:00

Interesting article written by Joe Kaufman, founder of the (slightly racist) group Americans Against Hate (AAH).

"Is the beheading of homosexuals an Islamic religious duty or an independent political act? This is a question currently being posed on Islam Online (IOL), a website popular to the English and Arabic-speaking Muslim community. Given IOL’s violent anti-homosexual history, the answer may surprise you...."

FrontPage Magazine

Weekly Mix Masala

2008-07-26T11:14:00.003-05:00

Interview with Onir, director of My Brother...Nikhil
DesiCritics.org

Protests urge US and Europe to stop aid to homophobic countries
Pink News

Gay honor killing, a first in Turkey
The Independent

What's wrong when men come together?
Business Standard

Trans tourists detained in Dubai
Gulf News

Profile of The Wire's Omar Little, "the gay stick up man who robs drug dealer for a living"
The Guardian

Pakistan at risk for HIV/AIDS epidemic
Daily Times of Pakistan

South Asian gays silent no longer
The Province

801 women for every 1000 men ain't so bad...

2008-07-19T11:53:00.000-05:00

...for gay gays, that is. In the Gujarat town of Mehsana, the past years of female foeticide are finally catching up. The lack of women in their 20s and 30s is causing gay activity to skyrocket, according to doctors (and male prostitutes) in Ahmedabad who have frequent contact with MSM's (men who have sex with men) from Mehsana. Whether the story is true or false, this activity is being used to explain the increase in HIV/AIDS and other STD's coming from the area.

Sans females, men go gay in Mehsana
Lack of ladies leads to gay love?

Weekly Mix Masala

2008-07-18T12:33:00.012-05:00

A British Columbian newspaper publishes article online regarding South Asian queers and their struggles.
The Province

Banker launches blog to give voice to Pakistani gays!
Economic Times

After its historic elections, Nepal still sees no improvement in attitudes towards queers
UK Gay News

Sydney, Australia's first ever GLBT South Asian film festival to take place Aug 15-17!
SX News

160 Organizations Rally to end HIV/AIDS travel ban to the US
The Daily Dish

Archives of Sexual Behavior: A new study on coming out by South Asian gay men in the UK
Ingenta Connect

Indian Council of Medical Research allows gays to use in vitro. How is India so outdated on one hand, and then so progressive on the other?
Times of India

The Gay Wedding Industrial Complex
Jezebel

Meet filmmaker Sonali Gulati - one of the organizers of Delhi's pride parade
Thaindian News

Gurinder Chadha, my feminist hero
Jezebel

queer i s t a n

Gay Gandhi? Hardly

Fitting In Without Letting Go

Nepal Knows Where the $$$ is at

Queer Desi Hotline Opens!

Want some masala in your hamantaschen?

We all want world peace

The internet- Finding dirt on others has never been so easy!

Some Just Enjoy the Rickshaw Ride

Queering Around

Muslim Country motions to Legally Recognise Same-Sex Unions

Decriminalisation of Homosexuality in India's Capital? Say Wha?!

Voices From the Community: Cruising, Blackmail, and Guns

A breath of fresh air...

Representin' at Sydney Mardi Gras

Weekly Mix Masala

Just hope that we won't have to wait 466 years..

Mr. Patel and his Gay Elephant

The Gayest and Brownest Oscars EVER

UK vs. Sharia

Pink Chaadis to the Rescue!

Happy <3 Day!

Weekly Mix Masala

All the single ladies, put your hands up...

Weekly Mix Masala

For Queer Dummies: Section 377 Ruling

Girltalk in Chennai

Manhunt presents.. Mr. Gay World 2009

MoC(k) Marriages

Weekly Mix Masala

La Mala Educación

Reincarnation key to homosexuality!

South Asia, US refuse to sign UN gay-rights declaration

Weekly Mix Masala

The Making of "I Can't Think Straight"

Weekly Mix Masala

Ellen goes Bollywood

Anoop Dogg Hits American Idol

Prince Charming?

Bollyshould(n't) Have

An easy way to lose money...

Voices From the Community: Queer and Disabled

NDTV On It again

Move Over Nandita Das...

Happy Holidays and World Peace!

How big is your test tube?

Queeristani Travels: Canadian Journo Conquers Gay India

Gays = Terrorists!

Weekly Mix Masala

Why Sikhism Is Naturally Amenable to Gay Marriage (Sikhism and Homosexuality, Part I)

Weekly Mix Masala

The Girl Effect

World Aids Day

An Intimate look at the Lawyers fighting against Section 377

Weekly Mix Masala

Priyanka Speaks Up - Again

I can haz English

"Gay" Dostana banned in Pakistan

Weekly Mix Masala

Nepal grants Same-sex marriage rights!

Map: Counties against Prop 8 vs. Asian Population

Losing the Battle but Winning the War

Salaam Zindagi Interviews Gay Men

Weekly Mix Masala

Queer South Asian Cinema

Voices From The Community: Fighting for Human Rights or Battling Ethnocentricism?

The Home Ministry ain't real friendly

Getting the Ball Rolling!

The Moment of Truth

If you're ever confused, the Olympics Commitee will help you out

The Pink Visa Scandal

Think Hatke

New Queer Desi Channel on YouTube

Voices From the Community: Are South Asian Closets Different?

Fashionable Poverty

Top Posts of July/Aug '08

Weekly Mix Masala

Mark your calendars - Sept 18!

Underground Social Justice (...literally)

Positively a Runaway Groom